Endless Love in my Heart
by JTTran
Summary: Beast Boy and Raven's love only grows stronger and stronger, but now it is time to face the harshness of reality as they embark on a journey that will change their lives forever. As they seek to find the answers behind the malicious Conductor and his Taboo and the mysterious Composer, their friends, their love, and the very fate of the world will soon rest in their hands.
1. The Pieces Lie Where They Fell x Present

**Disclaimer: I claim to own none of the original Teen Titans characters. However, all original characters were invented by me. Any similarities to other FanFiction original characters or stories are purely coincidental.**

**Note: This story is the third part of the Heart Trilogy, a sequel to to my first two FanFiction stories, _Secrets in my Heart_ and _Memories in my Heart_. While they do not necessarily have to be read, as a short summary of each exists below, I would recommend that you read them both first to fully understand the entire story.**

* * *

Raven stood on the cliff with her eyes closed, letting her long hair flow in the breeze. This cliff contained very special memories for her, all of them of Beast Boy. Perhaps if she called him from here… Opening her eyes and taking a deep breath, she placed her thumb and index finger into her mouth and blew as hard as she could, producing a loud whistle. Nothing happened. Again, she whistled as loud as her lungs could manage. Again, nothing happened. Panting, she continued, ignoring the gradual weakness of her lungs. And when she could whistle no more, she closed her eyes once more and again let her long hair flow in the breeze.

"Beast Boy," she whispered. "Can you hear me?"

…

– **Secrets in my Heart –**

_The story begins one autumn day with two best friends named Beast Boy and Raven, who both discover hidden feelings for each other. One day, Beast Boy shows Raven his favorite song, a melancholic love song called "Lovers' Tears". In a spur of the moment, he asks Raven to be his girlfriend, which she tearfully rejects, saying that she has a secret that would prevent them from being any more than friends. Not fully understanding what she was saying, Beast Boy decided to forget the entire incident._

_A week passes and Raven teleports to Azarath to attend a banquet, accidentally bringing Beast Boy with her. While there, Beast Boy learns that Azarath has thirteen very powerful sorcerers and sorceresses called "Fathers" and "Ladies", with Raven being one of them. These Fathers and Ladies are the most powerful of Azarath and act as the leaders of its people._

_During the banquet, Beast Boy sits with Raven and many others and impresses them all by giving a speech on living life to its fullest and taking risks. After the banquet, Raven is escorted away and taken to a private room, where Beast Boy finds she is getting married to a cold, spiteful professor named Seymour. Interrupting the wedding, Beast Boy is captured and Seymour threatens to kill him and other people who were attending the wedding for unknown reasons. Raven demands that he gives her "the cure," but when she realizes she was tricked, Raven manages to free the people and she and Beast Boy escape to Earth. Inspired by his speech on living life and taking chances, Raven kisses Beast Boy and starts a relationship with him._

_Things complicate their relationship, however, when Raven encounters Terra, who tearfully confesses that she still loves Beast Boy. Guilty over taking Beast Boy away from Terra and tortured by a secret that she has been hiding, Raven breaks up with Beast Boy and—after seeing Beast Boy kiss Terra—loses control, transforming into a monster called "Paen"._

_While the other Titans fight off the monster, not knowing it was Raven, Beast Boy goes into Raven's room to search for clues. He somehow contacts a man named Raphael, a close friend of Raven's from Azarath. He informs Beast Boy of Raven's secret: all her life, she was inflicted with a curse called Paen. While Paen was kept under her control for many years through meditation and self-control, it feeds on her negative emotions like anger and sadness and slowly gets stronger. Beast Boy had now understood everything that was going on and realized that Raven must have lost control of Paen when she saw him kiss Terra._

_Beast Boy, with Raphael's help, manages to destroy Paen using a magical Crystal Sword from Azarath. Upon Paen's destruction, Beast Boy and Raven fall into an inter-dimensional realm of non-existence called the Void. The two manage to escape, however, and both realize they truly harbor feelings for each other, now officially restart their relationship._

– **Memories in my Heart –**

_Some time after the defeat of Paen, the Teen Titans were invited to New York City to teach a seminar at the Young Superheroes' Academy. A series of events strains Beast Boy and Raven's newly budding relationship as Beast Boy learns he was adopted and meets his true birth mother—a woman named Sarah Prynne—and Raven learns Cyborg has had deep hidden feelings for her. But their romance and their lives shatter completely as Beast Boy mysteriously dies in a car accident while on his way to meet Raven for a date._

_Ten years pass and Raven was now an agent in an organization called Polaris. She was just engaged to Cyborg when she met Terra's new boyfriend, a man named Jeremy Rousseau who bears a nearly identical resemblance to Beast Boy. Jeremy claims to have been born and raised in France—disproving any theory that he was Beast Boy—and later turns out to be Raven's partner in a new case involving Azarath, which had been taken over by an enigmatic group of people called the Taboo. The Taboo were led by a man named the Conductor—who had revealed himself as Seymour—and is preparing something they call "Via Purifico". As Raven and Jeremy are hired by a small rebel group in Azarath, primarily headed by Raphael, who plan to retake Azarath, Raven eventually becomes convinced that Jeremy was not connected to Beast Boy in any way._

_But things change as Jeremy uncovers the truth that he is, in fact, Beast Boy, who had really survived the car accident years ago but had developed amnesia and forgot who he was._ _His mother had found him at the hospital and, wishing to live a happy life with her son, took him to France and gave him false memories. Just as the truth of Jeremy's identity comes out, Cyborg decides to break up with Raven so she could be with the man she truly loves and Beast Boy regains most of his memories._

_Raven then discovers several secrets about Polaris, learning that it is an organization specialized in fighting Taboo. She and the Azarathean rebels, with the help of Polaris soldiers, eventually fights the Taboo and recaptures Azarath. In the climactic battle, Raven reveals that Seymour was only a puppet controlled by the real Conductor, and that the real Conductor was a man named Sanae, who had been acting as a spy in the Azarathean rebels. About to be killed by Sanae, Raven was saved by a mysterious light, which causes the Conductor to flee. After the incident, she was left with a magical timer in her hand and a note that was signed by "The Composer"._

_Raven and Beast Boy must now uncover the truth behind the Conductor and his Taboo, Via Purifico, and the enigmatic Composer.__ But are they prepared for the journey to come?_

…

– **Endless Love in my Heart –**

_**Secret Report 1**_

"_Live every moment with all you've got."_

_These words carry such powerful meaning and yet are so easily misunderstood. That is the weakness of words, of human language. We can say and mean one thing, and yet others take it to mean something else entirely. I must clarify the true meaning of this phrase. Unlike what many people assume, this phrase does not give us the permission to do all that we please. Rather, it serves as a reminder that we cannot waste a single moment of our lifetime with regrets or worries—to keep the past inside our hearts and the future inside our minds but to not let them overshadow the present. We must focus on the present—what is happening now all around us. We must focus on helping each other, connecting with each other, and understanding each other. That is what this phrase means. That is what we should do with our lives, helping our community and society as a whole rather than satisfying our own personal desires. Do not let your own individuality consume yourself. Let other people in, let them connect to you. Let their differences clash with yours and create a better world in this way. If only more people realized that…_

_My name is Soel, and due to recent events I find it necessary to keep these reports to help me and any future readers of these reports fully understand what exactly is going on at this moment. These reports will mostly be centered on:_

_Raven and the journey she will take as the chosen proxy_

_The Conductor, Sanae Kang, and his 'Via Purifico'_

_The complete truth behind the nature of the Taboo, the Conductor, and the Composer_

_Ah Raven. A most interesting woman to say the very least. I've only just met her about a year ago. Formally met, at least. I've been following her and observing her for many years now. When we had met, I pretended not to know her and so I called her "Rachel" as she called herself at that time. I even pretended not to know that her partner, Jeremy Rousseau, was in reality Beast Boy. It's best that she only sees me as a normal man._

_It's been a year since the Taboo's defeat and fleeing from Azarath, and much has happened since then. This world has begun rebuilding and restoring at a remarkable rate. Sector 1 of Azarath is already completely renovated and has become full of life. Sectors 2-3 are in fairly good shape and Sector 4 remains in tolerable condition. Sector 5 is still under reconstruction and Sectors 6-13 are completely untouched as of yet. The few surviving Fathers and Ladies—including the newly appointed Father Raphael—make up the New Azarath Committee, who have begun to restore order and life in their world._

_Raven and Beast Boy have been helping the New Azarath Committee in many ways while in their search for the Conductor. So far, their journey has yielded very little information, much to their disappointment. But I sense that much will happen in the days to come, especially now that Raven's timer only has a month left. Only one more month…_

_Perhaps one day she will discover the truth of who I am and who she is, perhaps by reading these reports. But I sincerely hope that day will never arrive._

…

"Raven!" Beast Boy cried as he carried a woman into the Polaris infirmary. The woman was unconscious and had blood stains all over her blue robe. "Move, move, move!" the man shouted as tears streamed down his face.

"Put her on the bed!" a Polaris medic instructed. "Careful, careful! Someone get the equipment!"

"Is she alright?" Beast Boy shouted. "She'll be alright. Tell me she's fine!"

"She'll be fine. Will someone get the damn equipment over here?"

"Here, doctor," two nurses said as they came carrying various equipment. They expertly took out some items and placed them on the woman lying on the bed. "Her heart beat is slowing down rapidly," a nurse said.

"Should we use the defibrillator?" the other nurse nervously asked.

"Not yet," the medic said. "We have to remove the bullet first. It's already inserted deep into her chest. It seems to have narrowly missed her heart."

"Raven!" Beast Boy cried out as he stood there, completely unable to help. The door slammed open as Raphael and the Captain came rushing in.

"What happened?" the Father shouted. "Raven… How is she? What happened to her?"

"I—" Beast Boy stammered as he clutched his head in distress. "I don't even know. I…"

"Is she alright? What's her injury?" the Captain said.

"Bullet—bullet to the chest," Beast Boy gasped. "I don't know what happened. I—we were going to meet on the cliff near Titans Tower today after the mission… She came early… When I came she was just—just like that. On the ground with blood spewing from her chest. A pool of blood all around her. Oh my God, oh my God, Raven!"

"Azar!" Raphael exclaimed. "How could this have happened? Raven's—she's strong! How could this have…"

"Doctor!" the Captain said. "How is she? She's going to live, right?"

"I don't know, the bullet's really deep," he explained. "She's lost too much blood. I don't think we can operate in time."

"No!" Beast Boy shouted, grabbing the doctor's shoulders and shaking him vigorously. "No, you have to! You have to save her! She can't die now!"

"Please, sir, you have to leave now," the doctor said. "We'll do whatever we can but you must leave this room."

"I won't leave until you save—"

"Move!" a man shouted as he rushed into the room carrying a briefcase. "I'm here, I'm here. Get out of the way!"

"Soel?" Raphael said. "What're you doing?"

"The Captain said Raven's in trouble," Soel said as he pushed the doctor aside. "I've brought my supplies."

"Supplies?" the doctor said, dismayed. "Excuse me?"

"I'm a hermit from Azarath. I've seen many things. I know how to save her in this condition." Quickly, he pulled out several magical charms and scrolls, laying them around Raven's body. "This… is a very delicate procedure," he muttered.

Closing his eyes, he whispered, "Remiomoren…" The charms began shaking with magic and the symbols on the scrolls began shining with light.

"Repercutio… Factus… Aetherium…"

Raven's bloody body started shining, become brighter and brighter like the rising sun.

"Remiomoren…" Soel whispered. "Remiomoren… Remiomoren…"

"Raven…" Beast Boy said as he clutched his hands in fear.

"Remiomoren!" the man shouted, creating a clasp of thunder and a flash of light as blinding as can be. Before Beast Boy could open his eyes, he heard Soel say, "It's over. It's done. She's alive." And as he opened his eyes and looked back towards the bed, sure enough he saw the image of Raven in her blue robe, sleeping peacefully as if nothing had happened.

…

"You gave us quite a scare yesterday, Raven," the President said as he sat behind his desk. "Are you feeling alright now?"

Raven nodded as she clutched her chest, completely healed and not even leaving a scar. "Yes, sir."

"Raven, please tell us," said the President. "Can you remember anything that happened yesterday?"

All eyes—Beast Boy's, Raphael's, the Captain's, Soel's, Joshua's, and the President's—were on Raven as she nervously coughed and cleared her throat. "I—" she started. "I can't, actually. I can't remember anything at all." Stopping for a moment to think, she finished, "All I remember is going to the cliff. The next thing I remember is waking up at the infirmary."

"I see…"

"And sir," Beast Boy said, pulling something out of his pocket. "This was lying on her body when I found her." He pulled out a pendant, black and circular, about one inch in length, and had an image of a scarlet stylized skull with wings.

"A pendant?" Raven said.

"That is strange indeed," the President murmured as Beast Boy handed the pendant to Raven, who placed it around her neck.

"It seems different, though," Raven remarked. "The design's a little different and this one has a different feel."

"Weird…" Soel said.

"Who could have done this?" Raphael muttered.

"The Conductor?" the Captain wondered. "A Taboo?"

"That seems wrong," Beast Boy said. "Raven was shot. Why would the Taboo use a gun to attack Raven?"

"That's true…" Raven said. "Maybe whoever did it purposefully used a gun to confuse us. He used such a common weapon so we wouldn't be able to tell who he was."

"That's possible," Raphael said. "Maybe you're right."

"But still," Raven continued. "How could I have been caught so off-guard to be almost killed by a simple bullet?"

"It wasn't a sneak-attack, either," the Captain mentioned. "She was shot in the front, not the back."

"And you really can't remember anything, Raven?" Soel asked.

She shook her head. "Not a thing."

"We'll have to be more careful then," the President said. Smiling, he added, "But we seem to finally have somewhere to begin now. For a year, we've been searching for answers only to find questions. But now we've made an enormous breakthrough. Captain?"

"Yes, sir," the Captain replied, pulling out a scroll. "We've been searching through the old Azarathean library and we came upon this prophecy, so to say, written by none other than the High Lady Azar of Azarath, shortly before her death and the Taboo invasion." Handing the scroll to Raven, he said to her, "Read it."

She took the scroll—feeling its old delicate paper, so delicate it seemed to crumble slightly when she touched it—and opened it, seeing ancient Azarathean writing engraved on the paper.

"Can you read it, Raven?" the President asked the sorceress, who nodded as she concentrated on the training she had received years ago, in which she was taught to read archaic Azarathean symbols.

"_The Prophecy of ROSE_," she recited.

"_The One Who Conducts draws near, bringing with him his 'Way of Purifying'._

_The One Who Composes looms close, lying beneath the shadows with a Raven perched in his hand._

_And inside the Raven's beak is a ROSE she must find—as bright as the stars that will drive away the Ones Who Conduct and Compose._

_And she will grant to the Composer his Wonderful World."_

As she finished reading, she looked around her to see all the men staring at her with confusion.

"What the…" Raphael gasped. "That's… some prophecy."

"But what does it mean?" the Captain wondered aloud. "'The Ones Who Conduct and Compose'. The Conductor and the Composer obviously."

"The Conductor's 'Way of Purifying'… Via Purifico," the President said.

"The Composer lies beneath the shadows with a Raven perched in his hand…" Raphael said. "Does that mean the Composer is using Raven?"

"Or perhaps the Composer is watching Raven? Like he's seeing our every move?" the Captain said.

"Maybe it means the Composer is helping Raven," Beast Boy suggested.

"Or maybe it means he's always one step ahead of her?" Joshua said.

"Or maybe it means he's trusted by Raven?" the President said. "A bird only perches on a person it trusts, right? Maybe it means Raven trusts the Composer. Maybe it means the Composer is someone she already knows…"

They were all silent, until Raven continued, "ROSE… And inside the Raven's beak is a ROSE she must find. What ROSE is it talking about?"

"That's the thing that attracts us the most," the Captain said. "ROSE… It says that Raven will use this 'ROSE' to defeat the Conductor and the Composer, right? I take it ROSE is some kind of weapon—something very strong and very powerful. Like the Crystal Sword was to Paen!"

"So our mission now is to find this ROSE," the President declared. "Maybe it could give us the weapon powerful enough to defeat the Conductor and the Composer. Maybe it could give us the answers to Raven's timer. Maybe it could stop Via Purifico."

"Great," Beast Boy said. "So how do we find ROSE?"

"Our expert research team," the Captain said to them, "had combined the Scanning ability of the pendants—that is, the ability granted by the pendants to read other people's minds—with the magical aura imprinted on ROSE by the Lady Azar—"

"English, Captain, English," Raphael said roughly.

The Captain cleared his throat in irritation. "Basically," he said, "We've managed to create a radar that can sense the presence of ROSE. We've managed to pinpoint four distinct locations that match Lady Azar's magical code, which is mostly likely each a piece of ROSE."

With this, the President said, "Your mission, Raven and Beast Boy, is to find all four pieces of ROSE and find some way to use it against the Conductor and his Via Purifico. Joshua will accompany you as he is the one who knows how to operate the radar the best."

"Joshua?" Raven said in surprise. Glancing over to the blonde man, who waved at her cheekily, she heard him say, "Isn't that fantastic, Raven? Quality time with BFF Josh." He winked at her, making her shiver in disgust. "Alright fine," she scoffed.

"I'm guessing it won't really be as easy as 'Follow the yellow brick road'?" Beast Boy remarked as he stood up.

"Doubtless you'll have some kind of opposition," Soel said. "Perhaps the Taboo… Perhaps Seymour… Perhaps the Composer."

"But whatever it is, we're prepared," Raven said. "We've been through a lot of training. We've all fought the Taboo before. Beast Boy and I have fought both Seymour and the Conductor before. Whoever it is, we'll be ready for them."

It had been a year since Raven's timer started and now there was only one month left. Only one more month… And though she said she was ready, I can honestly say…

Raven was nowhere near ready for what was to come.

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	2. A Love That Was Not Meant To Be x Past

**Note: Unlike _Secrets in my Heart_ and _Memories in my Heart_ which both contain only one story, _Endless Love in my Heart_ contains two distinct and separate love stories, one taking place in the present and one taking place in the past. Raven and Beast Boy's story in the present is, of course, the dominant story and the story of the past has very little to do with the main story in the present.**

* * *

_**Secret Report 2**_

_Raven had almost died, but I had saved her. Though I must keep my identity a secret, I couldn't have let her die now. That would have ruined everything. And so I saved her life by transferring her body into its Ethereal form. Raven, unlike most beings, has two forms—her Earthly form and her Ethereal form. For her, they are exactly identical and are not different in any way except its composition—her Earthly form is made of Material and her Ethereal made of Soul. Now, her Earthly form was on the verge of death so I had to transfer her to her Ethereal form. She still retains her ability to Imagine, but her ability to Conjure is now enhanced tremendously, meaning she is essentially much more powerful than she was before. I will explain all about Earthly and Ethereal beings in another report._

_Raven has begun the search for ROSE, which she believes will be able to answer the questions behind her timer and Via Purifico. ROSE is a codename for something mentioned in a prophecy by High Lady Azar shortly before her death. Like the Composer, Azar was also capable of limited clairvoyance and wrote in her prophecy that Raven would find ROSE and stop the Conductor and the Composer._

_The most common misunderstanding about clairvoyance is that is it written in blood and cannot change. In reality, clairvoyance does not show what IS GOING to happen in the future, but rather what CAN happen. Raven is not DESTINED to fight and defeat the Conductor but is CHOSEN to. She could very well run away or she could very well fail. It is not a 'for sure' thing. Raven may never find ROSE. The Conductor and Composer may not be stopped after all. Who is to know?_

…

"May I take your order?" the waitress asked three men who sat at the table. One of the men remained silent, apparently unaware she was there. "Ahem…" the waitress cleared her throat. "May I take your order?" Again the man sat unresponsive.

"We'll have the usual, Sam," another man said, smiling as the waitress nodded and walked away. He then hit the first man in the head and said, "Richard! Pay attention, will ya?"

"What?" Richard exclaimed. "Oh, my bad guys. Sorry…" He then rested his head and his hands and sighed, "She's just… so pretty. God, she's amazing."

"Oh, her again?" the second man said, shaking his head. "You've been staring at her every night for months. Either go talk to her or get over her!"

"I…" Richard said. "No, I can't! What if I screw up? She'll think I'm some weirdo."

"Richard," said a third man who spoke with a distinct accent. "You _are_ a weirdo."

"Hey, cool it, Loc!" he merely said without taking his eyes of her. "She's just… so beautiful."

"You said you'd go for it tonight," the second man reminded him.

"Whatever! Can't you see she's working?"

"You can't go back on your word, you know."

This had been Richard Burke's life for a year now. When he was 18 years old, he had met his two best friends—a white, burly man named Kane and an Asian man by the name of Loc. They were all agents in a secret government program called the Interplan, short for Interplanetary Peace-keeping Police and had been placed together as a team during their initiation. As they had only been in the program for a year, most of their missions were routine check-ups and simple reconnaissance—the boring stuff that the higher-ups didn't want to waste their energy doing. And after every mission, the three men celebrated by eating at the local diner, where Richard would stare at the lovely pianist, who played the piano with such beauty and awe.

"Angela…" Richard whispered as the waitress brought out their food. "Angela Roth… Such a beautiful woman… Her hair, her face is like—like an angel's. And she's just 18, just a year younger than me. It's all so—so perfect."

"See? What I say?" Loc remarked as he ate. "_Weirdo_."

"Can it!"

"Hey Richard," Kane said. "You ever noticed her face when she plays? How come she always looks so—"

"Sad?" he finished, as if reading his friend's mind. "Yeah I know. I wonder that sometimes, too. I also noticed she plays more sad songs than happy songs. And… whenever she _does_ play happy ones, they still seem a bit sad. Maybe something's wrong? Maybe she's depressed about something."

"Then go talk to her and find out!" Kane insisted. "That's how you make a move on girls."

"She always looks a bit sad," Richard said as the pianist finished playing her song. "Wait! She's getting up. But it's not closing time." His eyes widening, he nearly cried out, "She's coming this way, guys! Why's she coming here? Quick, act natural!"

"…Says the guy who's screaming while we're eating our food like normal people."

"Shut up!—erm, hi uh… Hi, Angela."

The woman smiled very slightly as she walked towards Richard. "Hello. Am I interrupting anything?"

"N—not at all. P—please sit down!" Richard stammered.

Sitting down next to him, she said, "So I noticed you come here a lot, and you're always looking at me when you eat."

"I uh, erm. That's a…"

"Hey look," the woman said. "Would you like something to drink? Maybe we could get some wine?"

The young man started to blurt out some jumbled sentence full of excited stammers before Kane said to her, "He'd love to."

"That's great," the woman replied with a small smile. Taking his hand, she led Richard away to a smaller, more private room in the restaurant.

The two sat down at a small table and ordered some wine. "Hey, you okay now?" she asked.

"Y—yeah I'm fine. Just a little nervous."

Chuckling, she said, "Don't be. You don't have to get nervous around me."

Richard smiled gently and he suddenly felt something within him burst to life.

…

"I remember once, not too long ago," Richard said. "I was in a real intense battle and I got hit in the leg."

"Did it hurt?" Angela gasped.

"Like hell, it did. But I knew I had to keep on going." He chuckled to himself. "It's gonna sound stupid, but the only thing I was thinking about was you."

"M—me?" she said in a shocked voice.

He nodded. "I kept telling myself… I kept saying, 'My God this hurts. I want to die so much… I know I'm going to die now.' But then I thought about you, the pretty girl playing the piano. And I said, 'I can't die. I have to live.' I kept saying, 'I hope I make it through this… so I can see Angela Roth's face one more time.'" Letting out an embarrassed laugh, he said, "'If I die now,' I said, 'I'll never get to hear her play again. So that's why I have to live…' And you know what? I'm not sure if I would have made it out of that battle alive if it wasn't for you."

He laughed, "I probably sound pretty dumb, don't I? It's like… Like I've fallen in love with a girl I barely know."

"I—No, I understand," Angela said shyly. "You know… A lot of things have been happening to me lately. I'm going through a really rough time. I—" She sighed. "I actually wanted to commit suicide a few weeks ago. But then I saw your face. The day I was ready to kill myself, I saw you in this restaurant, sitting in that chair. I saw you smiling at me, gazing at me with your beautiful eyes." Smiling, she continued. "There you were with that look on your face. A beautiful look as if you're never hurt and never down. And somehow, your smile convinced me not to kill myself. I didn't want you to lose that smile of yours. So every day, I'd always keep on living, just so I could see that smile of yours. It's like… your smile was the only thing keeping me alive. And you were just a stranger. I didn't even know your name until tonight."

Richard looked away shyly, causing Angela to giggle. "Shut up, you're making me blush!" he cried. Angela only laughed.

"Richard!" he heard Loc say. "It's late. We gotta go!"

"Be right there!" he said. Turning his attention back to Angela, he explained, "Sorry, duty calls. How about we meet back here, same time tomorrow?"

She nodded. "I'd like that."

"Alrighty, then," Richard said as he stood up. Leaving, he turned around and gave her an awkward wave goodbye. Cheerfully, she waved back. "I'll write you a song!" she cried before he left.

"What?" he asked her, standing at the door.

"A song," she replied. "I'll write you one, one day. Is that alright?" Richard smiled and nodded.

Their dates went on for about a year. Nearly every single night Richard would go to the diner and he and Angela would talk for hours. Sometimes they went out to other places as well. Many times they simply walked around the city.

But one day, Richard failed to show up. And the day after that, and the day after that. He and his team had been placed in a new case involving the world Azarath and had been relocated to Washington, D.C. Richard planned to tell Angela, but had no time to. And so he left, without having a chance to even tell her goodbye.

Angela waited for Richard for five years. Much happened to Richard during those years, none of which Angela knew about. All she knew was that the one person in her life who had shown her any love was now gone. Out of the blue, just like that, gone.

Angela had kept her promise that she would write him a song. After he had disappeared, she had found the courage and the strength to put her pain into music. After many years, she had finally finished writing her first song, a melancholic love song about lovers parting ways. With Richard on her mind, Angela entitled the song _Lovers' Tears_ and sold it to a recording company, where soon became a big hit. But she did not care for the song and sold all rights to it. Rather, she felt the pain of not having Richard in her life.

After five years of waiting for him, Angela slumped back into her gloomy, depressive state and eventually became desperate for the love Richard had once given her, joining a group of occultists and marrying a Demon named Trigon. Soon realizing what a fatal mistake she had made, Angela tried to run away but was impregnated by the demon. Later trying to kill herself, she was magically transported into a world called Azarath where she was taught peace and pacifism and had her name changed to Arella Roth. Months later, she gave birth to a baby girl, half-human and half-demon, whom she named Raven.

As the years passed, her memories of her love with Richard became little more than a fleeting dream. And I can sadly say had Richard not been assigned on that mission many years ago, he would have married Angela and they would have had a very beautiful, loving life together.

But fate is not always that kind.

But of course, if Richard and Arella had not parted ways, Beast Boy and Raven would have never met. If Richard and Arella's romance had never withered, Beast Boy and Raven's would have never blossomed.

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	3. The First Piece x Present

_**Secret Report 3**_

_In the World, there exists two types of entities: Earthly beings—that is, humans—and Ethereal beings—that is, Angels, Demons, and the Taboo. These two types are separate and distinct from each other, but are also codependent on one another. For you see, Ethereal beings have bodies made of Soul, which is produced by Imagination. Earthly beings have bodies made of Material, which is produced by Conjuration. As such, the Earthly and the Ethereal beings are dependent on each other because Earthly beings freely Imagine, thus creating Soul—the resource that makes up Ethereal beings, and Ethereal beings can freely Conjure, thus creating Material—the resource that makes up Earthly beings. The two exist in harmony this way._

_Again, a being is either Earthly or Ethereal—there is no in-between except in a few rare cases. For instance, humans—when deeply trained and often only Azaratheans—are capable of limited Conjuration, which manifests in their spells. In this case, they cross their limits slightly, but they are still human, however, merely tapping into the power source of the Ethereals._

_The only true exceptions are three people: the Conductor, the Composer, and Raven. The Conductor and Raven are exceptions in the fact that they are essentially both Earthly and Ethereal, for the Conductor was once human, himself, and Raven is the offspring of a human, the Lady Arella, and a Demon, Trigon. As such, both possess the ability to Imagine and to Conjure._ _And the Composer is an exception simply because he is neither Earthly nor Ethereal, but rather another category altogether. He possesses the capabilities of both Earthly and Ethereal, but has the limitations of neither._

…

Joshua was a man about a year younger than Raven and had scraggly ash-blonde hair and lavender-colored eyes. He wore jeans and a white sleeveless jacket over a black t-shirt and his eyes were always twinkling and his mouth always smiling as if he were telling a joke. Whenever he spoke, he always carried in his slightly nasally voice an air of arrogance, which rang in Raven's ears as he cried to her at the entrance of the Polaris Headquarters, "Come on, kiddies, come on! Chop, chop!"

"Who are you calling kiddy?" Raven snapped. "I'm older than you, remember?"

"Oh that's right," he said. Correcting himself with a snicker, he said, "Come on, _granny_, come on!" Raven only rolled her eyes before conjuring a portal to Azarath. Beast Boy proceeded into the portal and Joshua was roughly shoved in by Raven before she went in, herself.

The trio found themselves standing in the front room of the Azarathean Castle, surrounded by some monks who immediately rushed forward and greeted them. Waving the monks off and telling them they were on an important mission, Beast Boy led the others into a more private room. "Alright, Josh," he said. "Work your magic. Show us the radar thingamabob."

"I guess…" he shrugged as pulled out a small device that resembled a touch screen cell phone. Fidgeting with the device for a few moments, he eventually got it to display a 3-D holographic map of Azarath. Raven was slightly taken aback by the holographic projection and stared in awe at the state-of-the-art Polaris technology.

"See these three blinking dots?" Joshua asked, pointing at three white dots scattered throughout the map. "Those are the pieces of ROSE. One is in Sector 4, which is currently still under restoration. A good number of people have already settled in the Sector and may be able to help us find it." Pointing at another dot, he continued, "This piece is located near the far outskirts of Azarath in the forests. Unpopulated and filled with trees and wildlife so we'd have to search for that one by ourselves." Pointing at the Castle, he said, "And this one is coincidentally inside this very castle. We should look for this one first."

"Wait," Raven interrupted. "There are four pieces of ROSE. How come there's only three dots on this map?"

"Ah," he replied. "We think the fourth and final piece is on Earth."

"But High Lady Azar had never stepped foot on Earth before," Raven said. "How could she have placed a piece of ROSE there?"

He shrugged, "Who knows? Does it matter though? And who says it was Azar, herself, who had put them there? All we know is that her magical code is imprinted in the pieces. Everything else is just a guess. We aren't even sure what ROSE even is."

"…That's right," Beast Boy said. "We have no idea what ROSE is. We don't have any clue what the pieces look like." Looking at Raven and Joshua, he said, "How are we supposed to find them if we don't have the faintest clue what it even _looks_ like?"

"Ah… That's where things get difficult," Joshua admitted. "And quite frankly, we don't know. We have no clue what the pieces look like and the radar can only sense the pieces' general location, not where it is exactly. We're just gonna have to wing it."

"Wing it?" Raven said in a flat tone, obviously not impressed with the idea.

"I'm sure something will turn up that helps us find the pieces," he replied coolly. "For right now, let's focus on finding the room that the first piece is in." He then zoomed in on the Azarathean Castle on the holographic map, enlarging it and showing more details. "It seems like the piece is in this room right here," he said, pointing at the bright dot. "Now where could that be?"

"10th floor," Raven mumbled. "That's… that should be the Azarathean Treasury—where they keep all the gold and priceless artifacts and objects."

"Wait a sec," Beast Boy said. "_Priceless _artifacts and objects? The piece of ROSE could be anything in there then."

"That's true," she noted. "All kinds of weapons from the past are stored in there. It might take us forever to find the piece."

"Well the first thing we have to do is get there," Joshua reminded them. "Let's worry about that part when we get there."

"Alright then, let's go."

"Now?" Joshua complained. "Why can't we take a break? We've done half of today's work already."

"What are you talking about?" Raven retorted. "We've done nothing except find out what room it's in!"

"Come on, dude," Beast Boy said to the man. "Are you seriously _that _lazy?"

He only shrugged and replied, "I'm not a fan of the whole sweating thing…" Standing up and looking at Raven, he said, "Well since you _obviously_ know more about his place than I do, I think it's best you be my escort."

"…Whatever."

Raven led the two men out of the room and up the stairs towards the Azarathean Treasury. As she walked upwards, she pleasantly greeted all the people she passed, all the Brothers, Sisters, Professors, Scholars, and the occasional Father or Lady. It pleased her greatly to see Azarath beginning to restore to what it once was eleven years ago—always full of life, happiness, and smiles. When she had been a teenager, she had always viewed happiness as an unimportant thing—something that did not contribute or help to anything in any way. Back then, she would walk the streets of Azarath and look around to see happy faces everywhere. She had scoffed at them quietly, believing that their smiles were worthless and useless. But last year, when she had walked the ruined and destroyed streets of her former home, seeing nothing but sad, tearful, desolate faces, she had realized the importance of happiness. For while happiness doesn't necessarily do anything useful, it does bring with it a ray of light to shine in the darkness—a beacon of hope in the midst of destruction. She could see it now how the smiles of everyone in Azarath made their still ruined world a brighter place, for in their hearts was not destruction, confusion, or sadness, but hope. Hope for a brighter tomorrow and hope that their world can one day be fully restored.

As they reached the 10th floor, they came upon a large door twice their height made of a substance that resembled gold. "Dead end?" Beast Boy wondered aloud.

"It's a door, Beast Boy," Joshua sighed, shaking his head. "The thing about doors is that… they _open_."

"Well no shit, Shirlock," Beast Boy snapped. "But how are we supposed to open a door that big made of gold?"

"Guys, will you shut up?" Raven shouted over them. "I'm trying to concentrate." Walking up towards the door and kneeling in front of it, she made some sort of hand sign, waving her arms hypnotically and slowly brought them together, clasping her hands as if she was praying. Slowly, but enunciating every syllable, she chanted, "Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…" A loud creaking sound immediately came from the door as it suddenly started to open, letting out an enormous burst of light from inside the room.

Standing up and looking back at the two men, she said to them snarkily, "Well don't just stand there and stare like a bunch of idiots. Get your butts in there!"

"Erm, yes ma'am!" came the simultaneous reply as Beast Boy and Joshua immediately rushed inside.

The Treasury was a sight to see. It was far larger than Beast Boy would have imagined, about the size of a football field, even. However, it wasn't like magical treasuries in movies with gold everywhere and skewed all over the ground so that you could swim in it. Rather, everything was neatly organized—there was a place for everything and everything was in its place. As he walked around, he stared in awe at the huge blocks of gold, the large statues made of a shimmering substance, and the beautiful weapons from Azarathean history. There were swords nearly as big as him, undoubtedly wielded by a powerful warrior in the past, shields made of a metal that seemed stronger than crystal, bows and arrows that were probably magically enhanced, among various others. There was statues of many famous heroes and figures, with the largest one being of a man holding a sword, which Beast Boy recognized as resembling the Crystal Sword, which he had used to destroy Paen many years ago. Walking up to the statue and reading the inscription, he discovered the man was a powerful sorcerer named Sorcerer Leon.

"Those statues," Raven explained to him. "They used to be placed in many places all around Azarath. Because they were one of the most precious things in all of Azarath, they could immediately be magically transported back into this room in case of an emergency so that no harm would come upon them. When the Taboo first invaded Azarath, one of the first priorities was saving the statues.

"Cool," Beast Boy said. "Hey, where's the Crystal Sword? Shouldn't it be in this room, too?"

Raven shook her head and replied, "The Crystal Sword has its own chamber. It's the most precious weapon in all of Azarath and we would need it to be securely placed somewhere that it could never be stolen."

"Do you think we could use the Crystal Sword to fight the Conductor?"

She shrugged. "It's possible. The Crystal Sword has only ever been used twice. Once by Sorcerer Leon to defeat the Demons in this thing called the Sorcerer-Demon War thousands of years ago, and once by you to defeat Paen."

He seemed shocked to hear this news. "You mean," he stammered. "I'm one of the _two_ people in human history to have _ever_ used that sword? The most powerful weapon on Azarath?" His face immediately brightening up, he exclaimed, "So shouldn't I be some kind of celebrity or something? I'm just like that Sorcerer Leo!"

"_Leon_," she corrected and added on without a moment's hesitation, "And no!"

"What are you two going on about?" Joshua shouted to them. "You made me come all the way here and make me do all the work? Quit your yapping and help me! Making me sweat like this…"

"Well how are we going to try to find it?" Beast Boy said. "There's thousands of things in here. It could be anywhere, any one of these!"

"That's true," he replied, lifting up a golden necklace shaped like a crown. "Whoa… Do you think I could keep this?"

"What?" Raven cried. "No!"

"Why shouldn't I? I'm performing a national service by helping defeat the Conductor, right? And I helped take back Azarath last year. This world freaking owes me! I'm gonna go find one of the Fathers and ask if I can keep it. Be right back!" Joshua giddily ran out the room, clutching the necklace in his hand.

"Wait!" Raven cried as Joshua went out. "That idiot," she sighed. "He probably just made that up to avoid doing work. Why would he want that ugly necklace anyway?"

"It would match his personality…" Beast Boy said as he sifted through the magical artifacts.

"Such an ugly necklace…" she muttered to herself. "Necklace… Necklace…" Suddenly, Raven's face lit up as she had an idea. "My pendant!" she exclaimed as she held the pendant she had been wearing.

"What about it?" he asked without taking his eyes off the artifacts he was searching through.

"The one that was left on me the day I got shot," she said. "It's different. I feel like it's stronger than the old one. Maybe whoever attacked me accidentally dropped it. Do you think it could sense the pieces of ROSE?"

"I say it's worth a shot."

"Alright." Clutching the pendant in her hand, Raven closed her eyes and concentrated on her magic. "Focus, concentrate," she muttered to herself. "Open up… your senses. Curiosity and Imagination…" She felt a rush of power within her as her pendant started shaking with magic. This power within her was much stronger than she had ever felt before. Was it because of the new pendant? Still, she did not let that distract her. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

She suddenly gasped as she felt a surge of magical energy released from her. She heard in her mind a caw like that of a raven's as her vision started to become dark and blurry. Everything suddenly became dream-like, like she was floating in air. Trying to look around her, Raven found it became difficult to move quickly. Struggling to turn around, she saw near the far wall a bright object shining a bright white color. "What's… that…?" she thought as she squinted at the object. "Is that… a piece of ROSE…?" Staring at the object, the bright light seemed to become clearer and slowly took the form of a large cup.

Losing her concentration, she was suddenly whisked back into her normal state as everything suddenly reverted to normal. She found herself on her hands and knees, panting and breathless. "What, what is it?" Beast Boy said as he rushed towards her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…" she panted. Looking back up at the place where she saw the light, Raven said, "I saw it. The piece. It's over there!" She suddenly got up and ran towards the far wall, stopping in front of it and waving at the general area. "I saw it, Beast Boy. It's here somewhere. It was like a large cup. That's what I saw."

Beast Boy immediately took to searching through the artifacts and gold as Raven rested for a moment. That sudden burst of energy as she used the pendant for the first time was very draining of her. It would take some time before she could be able to use it without nearly passing out from exhaustion. But it was definitely much more powerful than her previous one. And now, at least, she knew she could use the pendant to find the pieces of ROSE. Things were beginning to look bright.

"There's no cups here!" Beast Boy said.

"Yeah there are!" she said back. "There has to be, I saw it."

"Well I'm telling you there are no—" he stopped in midsentence as he pulled out a golden goblet emblazoned with magical runes. "Is it—" he gasped.

"That's it!" she nodded breathlessly. "Yeah, that's definitely it!"

She was suddenly startled by the sound of Joshua's voice behind her. "They said I couldn't keep it!" he said as he walked in. Tossing aside the necklace, he said, "Pretty stupid if you ask me. Alright, then, let's look for that ROSE."

"We already found it, no thanks to you!" Beast Boy said.

"Oh did you?" he replied as he walked up to them. "Well, looks like my sweating was all for nothing. THANKS for that." He took the goblet from Beast Boy's hands and examined it himself.

"But how can we be sure?" Raven wondered aloud.

"I think this'll do," Joshua stated, showing them the goblet and pointing at a small 'E' elegantly engraved on the side. "'E' like in ROSE." He handed the goblet to Raven to examine, herself. As the goblet touched her hand, the 'E' started shimmering a faint light. The light became stronger and engulfed the entire goblet. As the three exclaimed in shock, the light suddenly faded and the goblet was gone; in its place was a small golden circle-like object.

"What had just happened?" Beast Boy said.

"Looks like the goblet transformed," Joshua said, studying the circle.

"But what is this?" Raven said.

"Looks like… like it could be the bow of a key," Joshua said. "You know, the handle thing. The part where you hold it."

"It does kind of look like it," Raven said. But what does that mean? The pieces of ROSE make up a key? ROSE is just a key?"

"Or maybe the pieces make up a key that can _unlock_ ROSE… Maybe the four pieces of ROSE will make a key and we could use it to unlock ROSE, whatever it is."

"So then… It seems like our mission is made pretty clear now," Raven said. "Use Joshua's tracker to find the location of the piece, use my pendant to Scan and find where exactly the piece is, then when we have them all, we find whatever the key unlocks and we have ROSE."

"So basically, I'm worthless in this whole mission?" Beast Boy joked. "That's dandy…"

"Alright!" Raven exclaimed with a determined smile on her face. "We have 'R', 'O', and 'S' to find with—" she glanced at the magical timer on her hand, "—about three weeks left to find them. We'd better hurry!"

"…Not if it involves sweating, Raven," Joshua sighed. "God, I hate work…"

"Come on," Beast Boy said enthusiastically. "If we already found one in a day, we can find the others in no time!"

And Raven had smiled for there was hope in her heart. It seemed like their journey was crystal clear now. If only she knew what was to happen, what secrets lie in the future…

…

A man in a black jacket with a scarlet skull with wings emblazoned on its back stood on the top of a large skyscraper overlooking New York City. His name was Sanae Kang, but names held no meanings for him. He was the Conductor, and that was all he or anyone else needed to know about him. Raising up his right hand, he stared at it intently as if something was on his mind. Sighing, he dropped his hand back to his side and closed his eyes, Scanning the people of Earth and reading their thoughts. He winced as the wave of jumbled thoughts from everyone in the world suddenly flowed into his mind. Immediately halting his Scanning, he let out a long sigh and said softly to himself, "Their thoughts… so jumbled… so selfishly disconnected… so cacophonous." Opening his eyes and staring out at the people below him, he said, "Via Purifico is ready. Wait just a little longer, people of the World, and you shall be saved…"

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	4. The Second Piece x Present

_**Secret Report 4**_

_The Ethereal beings are primarily comprised of three groups: Angels, Demons, and Taboo. Technically, Shadows fall under this category as well. They are similar to animals in the Earthly world—just as animals are made of Material but lack the ability to Imagine like humans, Shadows are beings made of Soul but lack the ability to Conjure. Shadows exist under the control of the Taboo, but that is another, far less important detail._

_In the beginning, only the Angels had existed, created by the Composer to serve and guide the humans. But many of the Angels refused to serve the humans, whom they saw as weak and powerless. These Angels did not understand the delicate balance between the Earthly and Ethereal beings and so rose up against the Composer. They were then struck back by the Composer and were branded as fallen angels—becoming Demons that thrived in Hell. Realizing they have no power against the Composer and his Angels, the Demons decided to wage war against the humans instead. This became known as the Sorcerer-Demon War. The humans were initially powerless against the Demons, but a select few were granted power by the Composer. These few, led by a man named Leon, eventually fought back the Demons, banishing them into a separate realm of existence. These few sorcerers then created the Seven Ancient Spells in case any other catastrophic event that threatened humanity was to happen._

…

Cyborg walked into the bar with loud music blasting all around him. Ignoring it, he moseyed down to his usual seat and was surprised to find Terra there. He sighed as he watched her gulp down a glass of beer and walked over towards her, sitting down beside her. She turned around and was startled to see him, but immediately understood and ordered a glass of beer for him.

"So you're here, too?" she casually asked him.

"Yup," he merely said as he started drinking his glass.

"Same reason as me?"

"Yup."

"For the past year?"

"You know it."

"How come we've never crossed paths?"

"I usually go to Marley's."

"Marley's? The one ten minutes from here?"

"That's the one."

"That place is good. Less crowded than here."

"Which is why I normally go there," Cyborg said as he finished off his first glass. "Another one," he said to the bartender.

"How often do you drink?" Terra asked inquisitively as she gulped down a shot.

"Once every two or three weeks. Once every four if I can help it."

"That's not bad. Better than me, that's for sure."

"But tonight…" Cyborg sighed. "Tonight I'm going all out."

"Oh?" Terra said, raising her eyebrows. "What's the occasion?"

Taking a deep breath and consuming the entire glass in three massive gulps, Cyborg replied, "It's… my wedding day." Sighing sadly, he said, "Today's the day… I was supposed to marry Raven."

"Oh my God…" she gasped, clutching her mouth with her hands. Her eyes flickered back and forth as she tried to find a suitable response. "I'm sorry," she managed to whisper.

"Don't be," Cyborg said monotonously. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

Several moments passed as the two drank in silence, each thinking about the one person they had been in love with just over a year ago. The person they were still in love with at this very moment.

"Let's split 'em up," Terra suddenly proposed. "They haven't been dating long. Just a year, right? I've been with Beast Boy for five years. And you've been with Raven for ten. That's ten! We can somehow split them up, right? We can get them to come back to us."

"Terra…" Cyborg groaned. "You're out of your mind."

Shaking her head, she suddenly turned to face him and suggested, "Then let's get together!"

"What?"

"Let's get together," she repeated. "Come on, you and me! Cyborg and Terra, how about that? Robin and Starfire have each other. Beast Boy and Raven. Why not you and me? Come on, it'll be great! We both have broken hearts so let's help each other heal. It's like a movie, isn't it?"

"Terra," he said to her gently, but firmly. "You're drunk. Drop the subject."

"Why?" she cried, clearly intoxicated. "Why should I? What is it about me that's so unlikeable? Why does everyone seem to hate me, huh? First Beast Boy rejected me, then Jeremy, now you! Why can't—can't I be happy? Am I not allowed to be happy with someone?" Tears emerging, she cried, "Is it too much for me to ask that some loves me? That someone _likes_ me? Is that too much to ask? Am I a bad guy for asking that?"

Cyborg seemingly ignored her at first, but then leaned over and gave her a small hug, patting her back softly. "Terra, you'll have that someday. One day there will be someone out there who falls in love with you. Don't worry. What Beast Boy was to you, you'll be to someone else. I promise you that."

A drunken Terra wept quietly as she leaned on Cyborg's shoulder for the rest of the night. In the end, both passed out and fell asleep inside the bar and had to be picked up by Robin and Starfire. As they slept, however, only good dreams filled their minds and when Robin and Starfire had come to pick them up, Terra's head was still resting on Cyborg's shoulder.

Though this is a story primarily focused on Beast Boy and Raven, I do feel it necessary to inform to readers about the future of Cyborg and Terra's lives. Though it was a drunken offer at first, Terra and Cyborg did indeed have a very secret relationship that lasted for about a month. During this time, they had helped each other heal the wounds left behind by Beast Boy and Raven. After a month, they both decided it was much better that they remained friends.

Shortly afterward, Terra started singing at the local nightclub for leisure rather than for pay. She became a regular at the club and became close to the pianist, a recently divorced lawyer named Andy Wilson. They started an up-and-down relationship but eventually married four years later.

Cyborg, on the other hand, crossed paths with a woman named Sarah Simms, a teacher from West Side School for the Handicapped whom he had last met at Robin and Starfire's wedding a year and a half ago. He and Sarah started a strong friendship that eventually became a steady relationship. Because of his past mistake with Raven, he immediately proposed to her on their one year anniversary, an act that scared Sarah into breaking up with him. The two reconciled later on and Cyborg eventually forgets his relationship with Raven. The two married after three years of being a couple and five years of being close friends.

…

Beast Boy was a man of 29 years, a few months younger than Raven. When he was a small child, genetic mutation had caused his hair, skin, and eyes to turn green, but another genetic mutation 11 years ago—this one caused by genetic surgery—suppressed his green gene and turned him back into the appearance of a normal man. His skin was light like cream and his hair was dyed dark red but his eyes still retained the same green color. He was a fair height for a man his age and had gained some muscle through years of working as a Polaris agent. During official Polaris events, he would wear his Paragon division Polaris uniform—a cream colored over-coat with tails that extend to behind the knees and light gray trousers tucked into black knee-high boots, high collars that concealed the neck decorative plates with gold designs placed on the shoulders, white headbands, and gloves—but on regular days he would wear his new body-suit, very similar to the one he wore as a teenager but was red and white instead of black and purple.

"Thanks, Soel," he said to the man as he handed Beast Boy a cup of coffee. Raven also came up right behind Soel and handed Joshua a cup of pink lemonade and sat down next to them with a cup of coffee for herself.

Joshua stared at his pink lemonade intently, then glared at Raven and remarked, "What is this?"

"Oh Soel ran out of coffee so I got you the only thing he had left," she explained without looking at him. "Be grateful for it."

"I am a man," he told her, "and men do not consume pink beverages. Get thee gone woman, and bring me something brown."

Beast Boy merely smirked and drank his coffee. It had been a few days since they had retrieved the first piece of ROSE and now they were looking for another piece. Before they start the mission, however, they stopped by at Soel's coffee shop in Sector 1 of Azarath for some drinks. Soel opened his coffee shop a month after the Taboo fled Azarath. When asked why he opened the shop—which he named 'Heaven'—he'd always reply, "I dunno. I guess I just opened because I really like beans," to which everyone would be puzzled but forget about it as soon as he gives them his delicious coffee. He was older than them—though not as old as the President—and Beast Boy assumed it meant something important. After all, just about everything Soel says always has some kind of hidden meaning, Beast Boy soon realized. Today, as per usual, Soel told the three, "I love you kids but don't stay too long, alright? Business is booming and I got a lot of customers to take care of." And as per usual, they were the only ones there. In fact, Beast Boy could hardly remember this place ever having any customers besides them. But since it's still up and running, he assumed that the coffee shop did, in fact, have many customers; he just wasn't there to see them.

"So kids, tell Mr. S. What's new?" he said with a cheerful smile as he walked over to them. "Find that ROSE yet?"

"Not yet," Raven answered. "But we've managed to figure out a way to find the pieces. My pendant can somehow allow me to sense the pieces of ROSE."

Soel's eyebrows were instantly raised. "What did you say?" he immediately asked her. "Your pendant can sense it?"

"Yeah," Joshua said. "Isn't that great?"

Giving them all a small smile, he replied, "Yup. Absolutely great."

"So we're pretty much set, aren't we?" Raven said. "We've got it all figured out already."

"Well you know, Raven," Soel said with a wistful voice. "Having it all in your head doesn't mean much if you don't act on it." Looking at each of them—Raven, Beast Boy, and Joshua—he said to them with a wise voice, "You guys, you're partners now. And the most important thing you need to know is trust. Trust your partner. That is the only way you'll survive this. Believe me when I say that."

The three sat in silence, as if they were waiting for Soel's words to fully sink in. Raven and Beast Boy both smiled; this was a 'Soel moment'—that is, one of the many times when their older friend imparted to them some of his words of wisdom. For some reason, Soel appealed to Raven and instantly won her respect and admiration. For her, everything he says always clicks, always makes perfect sense. Though he was no longer young, he was still not that old, and Raven could tell he had wisdom far beyond his years.

"Thanks for that, Soel," Joshua said. "Well we'd better get going. Wouldn't want to disturb you anymore."

"Attaboy, Josh," he replied. "Come back soon and I'll treat you all." He then added with a playful snicker, "…after you pay me of course."

Beast Boy sighed. One day he will teach Soel the meaning of the phrase, 'I'll treat you'.

As they left Heaven, Joshua pulled out his radar and fidgeted with it. While he did so, Raven closed her eyes and focused her magic. In order to properly master her control over the pendant and its powers, she had recently taken to Scanning different people and reading their thoughts. With every time, she increasingly becomes more and more adept at it. She is now able to much more efficiently Scan her surroundings and is mostly likely able to sense the pieces of ROSE much easier.

Placing her index and middle fingers on her temples and concentrating her magic, Raven opened her eyes and Scanned a man a few feet away from her. Her vision became blurry and she immediately heard a voice inside her head which she knew was the man's thoughts: "Dang it, forgot my wallet! Well, no worries. As long as I've got my bus ticket, I just swipe it and—WHAT!? Did I drop it somewhere? How the heck am I supposed to get home?"

Raven looked around and saw another man standing nearby, and proceeded to Scan his thoughts as well: "I haven't fed the goldfish in a while... or myself, for the past three days. Damn, I am so broke. But the goldfish could make a very tasty m—No, no, arrrgh!"

"Interesting…" Raven duly noted, Scanning a woman who was walking on the street: "So he comes up to me and says, "You're venom, baby, and I've contracted your poison". What is that!? A compliment? A put-down? I don't know what to feel!"

Raven lost her concentration and immediately her vision returned to normal. She didn't bother trying to Scan Beast Boy or Joshua because she recalled Soel once mentioning that people wearing pendants are immune to Scan. "That's enough Scanning for today…" she thought. "I'd better save up some energy to Scan for the real thing…"

"Alright," Joshua said. "We agreed to check out Sector 4 next, right?"

Beast Boy answered, "Yeah, let's—"

"Wait," the woman interrupted. "What's today?"

"Uhh… March 31. Why?"

Looking at him shyly, Raven said, "Could we look in the outskirts today? The other piece is in the forest on the outskirts of Azarath, right?"

"Yeah," Beast Boy answered. "Ack, Raven! If you make a plan you stick to it!"

"Fine by me," Joshua said. "Either way, it's both work. Doesn't really matter where it is."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes and looked straight at Raven, asking her, "Why do you want to go to the forest all of a sudden?"

She only smiled and answered him, "There's something I want to show you. Come on, let's go."

"Fine."

"Ditto."

And with that, Raven called forth her Soul Self, which covered them up in shadows and flew across the sky of Azarath towards the edge. Flying until it neared a forest, the large shadowy raven dived down into the very center and disappeared as it hit the ground, uncovering Raven, Beast Boy, and Joshua.

Beast Boy looked around horrifically upon the dead trees, which were a sickly gray color and bore no leaves. "_This_ is the thing you wanted to show me?" he said skeptically to Raven, who looked at the time on her phone and answered, "It's not noon yet. Just wait a little, then you'll see."

"Great," Joshua said as he noticed the dead grass underneath his shoes. "How are we going to find the piece in this dead graveyard of a forest?"

"You're weird," Raven said to him.

"What?" he replied, though not the least bit offended.

"One minute you're complaining because of all the work, the next you seem to be the most focused on the mission. I'm just saying that's weird." Looking around the forest, as if she was waiting for something, Raven asked Joshua, "So why are you here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you here?" she repeated. "What's your purpose in all this? Why are you helping us? Basically, what's in it for you?"

Smiling mysteriously, Joshua said with a snicker, "Oh well you see… I just really want to defeat the Conductor. That's all."

"And why do you want that?" Raven pressed further. "You're not even from Azarath. You're from Earth. The Conductor's done nothing to you. So why do you want him defeated just as much as we do?"

His smile creepily widening, he continued, "Well it's not exactly the Conductor I'm after. It's the other guy. The guy behind the Conductor. The Composer."

"What about him?"

"I'm going to be him," said Joshua with a smile as if he were joking.

Raven was taken aback by this. "You're joking… right?"

"Not at all," he said with a cold smile. "I'm going to be the next Composer."

"I don't follow," Beast Boy said.

"Well you see, the Composer is immensely powerful. A new Composer arises when the previous one is defeated. If I become Composer, just imagine the power I'd have." Looking at both of them, who eyed him curiously, he quickly added, "I'm not gonna do anything bad, of course. I have my boundaries. It's just that if I become Composer, I'd be ruler of… the _other_ place."

"Other place?" said Raven, raising her eyebrow.

"I'd be king, basically, of the other place. The Realm, where the Angels, Demons, and Taboo lie."

"Again…" Beast Boy said quizzically. "I don't follow."

"Details, details," Joshua waved. "It's not important. But I assure you I won't harm this World in any way."

Raven scoffed. "But you said so yourself he's really powerful. And you expect to jump in, guns blazing?"

"That's the plan."

"Sure, that'll work."

"You know, Raven," Joshua said. "They say sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt."

"You know, Joshua," she shot back in reply. "If you were half as funny as you think you are, you'd be twice as funny as you are now."

"…I'll remember that when I'm Composer."

Rolling her eyes and glancing at the time on her phone, she jumped up, exclaiming, "It's time! It's noon."

The two others stood up, not knowing what to expect. Raven turned to look at Beast Boy and said to him, "Watch this."

Beast Boy started feeling a slight breeze as the sunlight started to shine through the thick trees, illuminating the dark forest with light. The breeze became stronger and stronger, kicking the dirt and dust into the air and causing the dead trees to sway. Raven started to walk a few steps away, closing her eyes and meditating softly. The trees violently shook around them as if possessed, and the wind blew and blew like a tornado. Softly and gently, Raven whispered in the midst of the violent trembling in the air, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

In an instant, Beast Boy gasped as the trees suddenly burst to life. White leaves and white flowers instantly bloomed on the once dead trees and its cold, gray bark transformed into a beautiful majestic black. The grass on the ground burst into bright green and several flowers on the ground bloomed open as if from nowhere. The sunlight filled the forest with light and warmth, bringing life into the forest that once seemed cold and desolate. Small Azarathean creatures resembling tiny fairies flew past him, startling him as they darted past his cheek. In an instant, the entire woods was surging with life.

Staring in awe at the sight, Beast Boy looked down at Raven and saw she was doing the same. She turned to him and winked. Walking slowly towards the man, she whispered playfully, "Oh no, what am I going to do?"

"What's wrong?" he asked with a smile.

"This place is just so pretty."

"Oh please, what am _I_ going to do?" he said back.

"…Because _I'm_ so pretty?" she said with the sweetest, cutest smile she thought possible.

They both looked at each other with frowns and agreed that she should never, ever say that again in her life.

"I'm surprised I didn't drop dead as I said that," she mentioned later. "It was horribly painful to even _attempt_ to say those words…"

…

Inside her small apartment sat a woman eating instant lunch, quietly and alone. The air had a feeling of tense loneliness in it as the woman ate with half-closed eyes. Her name was Sarah Prynne and she sighed as she finished her lunch, which barely filled her appetite. She thought about a particular person, causing her heart to beat a little faster and more painfully. "Beast Boy…" she whispered. "I'm glad I still have you, my son…"

Clenching her fist in pain, she added, "Don't ever leave me like your father did… But if you do… don't leave without saying goodbye." A tear dropped from her eyes.

…

The three partners continued on their search for the piece of ROSE, following the blinking dot on Joshua's radar. "We're getting a bit closer now," he muttered. Raven nodded to him while Beast Boy seemed too preoccupied by the beautiful trees.

"Black trees with white leaves," he muttered. "Azarath sure is something…"

"Okay," Joshua said abruptly. "It should be somewhere around here."

"Do your thing, Rae," Beast Boy said, stepping back as Raven closed her eyes and focused. Her pendant started shaking with power as she opened her eyes and Scanned her surroundings. Her vision was hazy, but clearer than her first time, and everything was colored in a shade of blue. She could make out most distinct shapes nearby such as trees, but objects in the distance were covered by a thick fog. It took some time, but she eventually spotted a very bright light coming from the ground nearby. As she focused her eyes on the light, it slowly took form of an 'S'.

"It's there!" cried Raven as she stopped Scanning and pointed at the ground. Running towards it past a few trees, she ignored the men's cries to tell her to wait. She ran towards the 'S' with such determination that by the time Joshua and Beast Boy had caught up to her, she was already standing by the second piece of ROSE—a large stone slab on which dozens of Azarathean creatures resembling butterflies lay. The butterflies were lying on the slab in such a position that formed the letter 'S'.

Beast Boy saw as Raven kneeled down in front of the stone, causing the butterflies to fly away, revealing a large 'S' shape engraved on the stone. As Raven slowly laid her hands on the stone, he heard Joshua ask her, "Are you sure it's that?"

"Positive," she replied. "You see the 'S', don't you?"

"Check it to make sure," he again heard Joshua say.

Raven nodded and Scanned the stone again, and upon seeing the 'S' shine brightly, she nodded in confirmation. This was the piece. Still Scanning, she turned to face Joshua to tell him that it was the piece they needed.

But as she looked at Joshua, face to face, something suddenly happened. She was still in Scan mode as she looked at him and at first she saw his face in a blue hue like normal. But the second she looked into his eyes, her vision suddenly flashed white for a split second. Her vision started contorting violently as she heard a large ringing in her ears. Before she knew what was going on, her vision faded and she could see nothing but white.

…

Raven saw that she was in some sort of white area. Everything was white. She looked down and found that she did not have a body, as if her physical self was not in this place, but rather just her consciousness.

"Where am I?" she wondered aloud. Everything felt strange, as if it was a dream.

The whiteness that surrounded her began to fade and she could finally make out her surroundings. She was on a cliff, which she soon recognized was same one near Titans Tower that she would go to meditate. She looked around and saw to her horror that there was a body on the cliff, unconscious and surrounded by a pool of blood. But her vision was too foggy and she could not clearly make out the figure.

"Who is that…?" she wondered. "Is that person… dead?

As she focused on the body, her vision started to clear and she saw with her horror that it was none other than herself.

Raven gasped. That was her body—the day she was shot on the cliff. This was her cliff, her body, her blood. This was the day she was shot. This was her when she was shot.

Her lifeless corpse.

…

The next thing she knew she was panting on the ground as if she was dying. She was back in the forest; beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

"Raven, are you alright?" she heard Beast Boy say.

"What happened?" Joshua called.

But she didn't reply. The stone slab was gone and was instead replaced with a rod-like object, undoubtedly another piece of the key.

But she was not focused on that anymore. What she was focused on was what she had just seen. She knew without a doubt in her mind that that was her—her bloody body the day she was shot. But why had she seen that? That vision had appeared to her when she had accidentally looked at Joshua.

Had she… Scanned Joshua? Impossible, she immediately realized. People who wore pendants couldn't be Scanned. But then she immediately remembered a conversation she had with Soel a year ago.

"_It's a long story. A really long story that I really can't explain," he answered, scratching his head. "You see, Joshua is… different from other people. He's… special. Have you noticed that when he was levitating, he wasn't wearing a pendant?"_

_Raven felt the color drain from her face. She hadn't realized it, but now that she thought about it, she didn't remember seeing Joshua wear a pendant while levitating himself. He wasn't wearing one while he attacked the Taboo named Don, either._

That's right, she recalled. Joshua was born with magical powers, meaning he doesn't have a pendant. That must have been why she was able to Scan him.

But why… Why did Raven Scan Joshua and see… that? Scanning allows her to read a person's thoughts and memories. So why did she see that? Why did she Scan Joshua and see her body the day she was shot?

Was it… his memory? Was he there the day she died?

No, that's impossible.

Utterly impossible.

"Are you alright?" she heard Joshua say to her.

"I'm—I'm fine," she said back. "Perfectly… fine…"

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	5. The Third Piece x Present

**Sorry for the delay guys. Life is getting so busy for me. And I apologize for the fact that the past few chapters were really repetitive. Forgive me for that, but it's all necessary to keep the story going. I promise you will all my heart the story really picks up after this chapter. Please do not give up on me and don't forget to review. I ask you to bear with me to the very end, and I hope you'll be satisfied with the ending!**

**Oh and one other thing. You might have noticed Beast Boy seems to play a very little role in this story so far. Sadly, that's the way it must be, for now at least. This story focuses much more on Raven rather than Beast Boy. Also, the first half of the story places more emphasis on Joshua. There's a reason for this. Beast Boy will gain much more importance later on and especially at the ending, which I sincerely hope you'll like.**

* * *

_**Secret Report 5**_

_There are essentially two planes of existence—the World, in which the Earthly worlds and Earthly beings reside—and the Realm, in which the Ethereal beings reside, which includes the Composer (although he often freely travels between the two planes), the Angels, the Demons (who live in a separate part of the Realm), and the Taboo (who have lately taken residence in the World due to recent events)._

_These two planes (not to be confused with Timelines, which is a very different and very delicate subject altogether) lay parallel to each other, never intersecting, and can only be crossed through magical means. The Composer and the Conductor can freely travel through the planes without any consequences. Angels and the Taboo can also cross over to the World, but are forced to limit their abilities when they do so. As such, they often do their work in the Realm, where they are much more powerful, instead of the World, in which they are much weaker. Demons, by contrast, are nearly unable to cross over to the World or even to other parts of the Realm due to the fact that they are trapped by the magical curse Paen. Ever since the Sorcerer-Demon War, the only instance of Demons crossing over to the World was Trigon and his army through Raven._

…

Soel—or 'Mr. S', as he liked to call himself sometimes—was indeed one of the most interesting people Raven had ever met. Though she had never told anyone, there was something about him that strangely attracted her—like a fond respect or a strange magnitude. He was slightly taller than Beast Boy and Joshua but was shorter than Cyborg and had a small beard and moustache and small black eyes. His hair was short and spiked up at the front and was predominantly as black as night with a few gray hairs here and there. While he was not fat, he had a very slight chubby roundness in his gut—but his arms contained a hint of muscle as if to balance it out. He always wore a white dress shirt—with the top two buttons left undone and the sleeves rolled up—a black tuxedo vest, black dress pants and shoes, and a black watch on his left hand. But one of the strangest things about him was his voice, which was unlike any that Raven had ever heard before. It was deep, deeper than a regular men's voice but higher pitched than a normal deep voice, reminiscent of a cello—and his voice seemed to resonate around the room whenever he spoke, even if he were to whisper. He also had a small accent which Raven could not identify—a strange, almost otherworldly accent. He seemed to be in his mid-thirties and his appearance made him look distinctly Asian, bizarre considering the fact that that race did not exist in Azarath. He was a very wise man for his age, whatever his age was, as he often knew exactly what to say and when to say it. Beast Boy and Raven slowly learned that quite nearly everything Soel said had some kind of hidden meaning in it, usually some kind of life lesson he wanted to teach. He always seemed like he knew more than he let on and often avoided talking about his own life. Though she had known and trusted Soel for over a year now, she actually knew very little about Soel's personal life other than he was the owner of his coffee shop, Heaven, and was before that a hermit who traveled across Azarath on his own and a close friend of Joshua.

"Sorry I'm late," he said as he walked towards Raven, Beast Boy, and Joshua, who were sitting at their usual seats in Heaven. "'fraid I got a little lost in the Path of Life. How's everything going?"

"Fine," they all said half-heartedly.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," he said with a sarcastic snicker. "Don't get the party started so fast. What's the matter? Shouldn't you guys be jumping for joy? After all you've got two pieces already." Looking directly at Raven, whose face was concealed underneath her hood, he said to her, "Hey Raven, could you help me with the drinks?"

"…Sure," she replied taciturnly as she stood up and followed him towards the back of the café.

Handing her some ingredients, Soel started, "So what's up?"

"What?"

"You heard me. What's up?"

"Nothing. Everything's going great," she replied in a monotonous tone.

"Aw, come on. I know it's not nothing. Your hood's up," he said, pointing at her hood. "That only happens when you have a lot on your mind. So tell me: what's up?"

Raven was slightly surprised at how quickly he read her mind and shook her head softly. "It's no big deal, really."

"You sure?" he asked. "Alrighty then."

The woman sighed as she helped pour the sugar into the coffee. To be honest, it was a big deal. For some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about the time she had Scanned Joshua. A few days had passed since the incident, but she couldn't shake off the thought: _Why_ was Joshua there the day she died? _Why_ was he there when she was shot? Was it possible that he…? No—it didn't make any sense. He was probably there to save her. Maybe he had come with Beast Boy to help rescue her. And besides, why would Joshua want to shoot her anyway? Sure he gets on her nerves, but in a friendly kind of way, like an annoying brother she has to put up with. In the end, they had both come to accept and probably genuinely like each other. There was no way Joshua would have wanted to _kill_ her. Even if he had his weird moments, times when he seemed untrustworthy or strange, there was no way he'd want to _kill_ her. That was just crazy.

"Raven, are you _trying_ to give us diabetes?" Soel remarked, causing Raven to gasp as the sugar overflowed from the cup and poured onto the table. She had been too busy thinking she forgot to pay attention to the sugar and immediately apologized.

As she rushed to get some paper towels, something in the study next door caught her eye. Pausing in mid-step, she turned around and peered outside the door of the kitchen at the thing she had seen—some kind of golden box. Walking outside the kitchen and into Soel's study, she stepped up towards the box and examined it more closely.

It was about the size of a safe and indeed looked like one, except it was made of what seemed like pure gold. The "door" of the safe seemed to be divided into four squares: the top left square contained an image of a winged man with some mysterious words engraved beneath it—"To Right The Countless Wrongs Of Our Day". The top right square had a similar appearance except it had the image of a winged lion and the words "We Shine This Light Of True Redemption". The bottom left, in turn, bore the image of a winged ox with the words "That This Place May Become As Paradise". Finally, the bottom right square contained the image of an eagle with the words "What A Wonderful World Such Would Be" engraved underneath. In the very middle of the safe, between the four squares containing the four images and the strange words, was a small lone keyhole. She became acutely aware that she suddenly began somewhat dizzy, but ignored it. "To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise, what a wonderful world such would be," Raven muttered under her breath. "Where have I heard that before…? It sounds vaguely familiar…"

A small tap on her shoulder briskly pulled her out of her thoughts as she suddenly turned around to see Soel standing right behind her with a strange look on his face. "Soel—" she immediately began, racking her brain for something to say. "I—" But before she could say anything, the man simply placed his index finger over his lips with a stern look on his face. He shook his head and quietly whispered, "Do not under _any_ circumstances open this box. Do you hear?" Raven opened her mouth as if to say something but could find nothing to say. "Do you hear me, Raven?" he repeated. Silently she shook her head with confusion in her eyes.

"We'd better go back," he said.

She followed him without a word.

…

Joshua rummaged through his pocket, searching for his radar. "Alright we agreed to go to Sector 4 now, right?"

"That's right," Beast Boy confirmed, but Raven did not hear him. There was something else on her mind than today's mission. Without thinking, she hastily clutched her pendant and Scanned Joshua.

…

Raven saw that she was in some sort of white realm, surrounding by a thick, dense fog. She was in a dream-like state, the same as before. The whiteness that surrounded her began to fade and she could finally make out her surroundings. She was on the same cliff and there again was her body lying unconscious, surrounded by a pool of blood.

Her lifeless corpse.

…

As she snapped back into her senses, she confirmed what she had feared. That was, indeed, her body in Joshua's memory. But why? Why is that image in his memory? It didn't make any sense at all.

"Hello? Earth to Raven," she heard Beast Boy say as he waved his hand in front of her face. "Yoo-hoo?"

"Oh, what?"

"You were staring at that little kid for a while," Joshua snickered. "You know that's considered borderline pedophilia, right?"

"I wasn't staring at anyone!" she snapped hastily. "I just had a lot on my mind. Alright are we going to Sector 4 or what?" She immediately conjured a portal and walked inside before the other two could say anything. Both shrugging their shoulders, they followed her.

But as soon as Raven stepped out of the portal and into Sector 4, she became aware of a sudden burning sensation in her hand. "What's going on?" she immediately thought as she clutched her hand in pain. "The timer… it's burning…" She felt the energy being drained from her as she suddenly became very weak, collapsing to the ground and gripping her right hand tightly. She felt dizzy and breathless, like she was dying. Beast Boy shook her shoulders and called out her name, but she couldn't hear him for a loud ringing like thunder clapped in her ears.

Within a few moments, the ringing stopped and her pain subsided. Though she was panting and out of breath, she managed to get up with Beast Boy's help.

"What happened?" he asked her.

"I—I don't know."

"Um, guys?" Joshua said to them. Beast Boy and Raven looked up and finally took a look at their surroundings.

The first thing Raven noticed was the bitter smell of smoke and ashes in air. She then realized that there was absolutely no noise, only a deadly silence. The charcoal-black ground caught her attention next until she looked around and saw that everything was in ruins, destroyed and burned.

"What happened here?" Beast Boy stammered in shock. "We were just here a week ago. How did this…?"

But they had all known the answer to that. The Taboo had struck.

The three split up and searched the houses for survivors. Thankfully, most of the inhabitants were still alive and were merely hiding. After helping them, they told Raven what had happened. The day before, the Taboo had struck, coming from nowhere and destroying their beloved Sector. Because the inhabitants were still alive, it was clear that the Taboo's motive was not to destroy. Rather, it seemed like they were searching for something and had apparently failed in their search.

"The Piece of ROSE," Raven, Beast Boy, and Joshua quickly understood. Doubtlessly they had somehow found out about ROSE and knew that one of the pieces was in Sector 4. Had they found the Piece, Raven wouldn't stand a chance against them. But the question was how did they fail to find it?

"Check the radar," she told Joshua. "Find out where the general location of the Piece is. Beast Boy and I will search for more survivors." Joshua nodded and went his way while Beast Boy followed Raven and searched the other houses.

The sound of crying attracted Raven to a certain house not too far away. Making her way inside, she saw to her dismay a little girl lying on the ground with tears rolling down her eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked her. The girl seemed startled, not knowing someone had entered.

"L—Lady Raven?" she said. Raven nodded.

"Are you okay?"

The girl shook her head and pointed towards the leg. Raven examined it and saw that it was a nasty shade of blue and seemed to bend the wrong way.

"I—I broke my leg," the girl sniffled. "I—I can't walk anymore, Lady."

Raven smiled and reassured her that everything would be alright. Concentrating her magic, she chanted, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos," very softly and placed her hands on the girl's leg, moving them up and down and slowly healing her. Within moments, she was done and the girl's leg was fully healed.

The little girl thanked her graciously and ran out the door of the house to rejoin the other survivors. As Raven gave out a sigh of relief, she too walked out the door, only to be greeted by a strange voice. "Lady Raven?" She turned around and saw to her horror who the voice belonged to. Beast Boy and Joshua also ran up to her, with the latter exclaiming, "I found it! It's somewhere near—" but stopping in midsentence as he laid eyes on their visitor.

It was a man dressed in a black jacket. A man whom they had met a year ago. The hot-headed Taboo named Don.

"Long time no see," he chuckled. "That was a nice fight you guys gave us last year. Seems you finally found out what Polaris really was. 'Course that made yesterday all the harder because I had to search this little village without alarming Polaris. I'm usually not an advocate for discretion, you know."

"How—how are you still alive?" Beast Boy gasped. "We—we killed you!"

"The Taboo are immortal," he snickered in reply. "Did you think we were human? We are no less immortal than the Angels that fly in the Heavens or the Demons that thrive in Hell. We cannot be killed—only erased from existence by a higher power. But I assure you that you humans are surely not a higher power."

"Shut up and cut to the chase!" Raven cried. "What do you want? Why are you here?"

"I think you very well know the answer to that. We are here for the ROSE."

"How do you know about that?" she demanded.

"A certain someone informed us."

"Well we already have it," Joshua declared. "So you'd better not waste your time picking up a fight. In a single phone call I can contact the Polaris and they can be here in seconds. And besides, I wouldn't mess with us if I were you. Especially not Raven."

"Is this the part where you say if I hurt her, you'll kill me?" Don asked.

"No. If you hurt Raven she's quite capable of killing you herself."

"Fine, then. For right now you have the upper hand," the Taboo said. "But don't you forget: we know your every move before you even make it."

"Go back to your Composer!" Joshua cried as Don disappeared. "Hide behind your master like a coward!" Snickering in satisfaction, he said to Raven, "You could've beat him."

"Yeah right," she said. "And I'll probably be bleeding everywhere. And you, Joshua, being the wise-ass you are, would probably offer to take off your shirt and cover up my wounds with it."

"Well, Raven, if you wanted me to take off my shirt, all you had to do was ask." Joshua winked, then hurriedly replied as he saw Beast Boy glare at him, "On second thought, it's probably a bad idea. Viewing my naked chest has caused many women to seriously injure themselves stampeding to get to me."

"Oh really?" Beast Boy raised his eyebrows.

Joshua assumed an air of mellow gratification. "Of course," he said, "I am stunningly attractive. Watching me play Scrabble is enough to make most women swoon.

Imagine if I actually put in some effort."

"Just shut up," she said in an annoyed voice. "But Joshua… what did you say to that Taboo? About the Composer?"

"Oh yeah. He's their leader. You didn't know that?"

"Wh—what?" Raven and Beast Boy both cried in shock. "The Composer is… their leader?"

"Oh, right. You guys didn't know that…"

"B—but how did you know?" Raven asked him, half in shock and half in anger.

"Dude, everyone knows."

"But the President said—"

"The President knows," he sighed. "If you don't believe me, ask him yourself."

"But the Composer saved me!"

"He was stopping the Conductor because it wasn't the right time to kill you. Raven, last year you said so yourself that when the Composer saved you, you felt like the Conductor was afraid of the Composer as if he was a greater power than him rather than an enemy. The Composer is his boss! That's why he was scared."

"This doesn't make any sense—"

"It makes perfect sense!" Joshua said, throwing up his hands in annoyance. "Come on, think about it Raven! You and Beast Boy can't _possibly_ be this thick-skulled. In a musical performance, who leads the orchestra?"

"What are you talking about?" Beast Boy said.

"_Who_ leads the orchestra?"

"…The conductor," he answered.

"Exactly," said Joshua. "The conductor leads them. But who writes the composition?"

"…The composer," Raven realized.

"Bingo! Same thing goes here. The Taboo are the players in the orchestra and we're the audience. The Conductor leads them and conducts the plan but in the end it's the Composer who's the mastermind. The Composer is our true enemy, not the Conductor. The Taboo and the Conductor are just following orders. They have no say in any of this. It's the Composer that we have to stop. And if I become Composer, I'll be able to stop them. I'd be able to stop Via Purifico. Get it? Everyone knew this already except you two!"

Everyone was silent. Slowly, Raven looked at her timer, which showed nine days left and was slowly ticking down by the second. "Then… then this timer…"

"Left by the Composer, undoubtedly to kill you once the timing is right."

"Then…" Raven whispered, "That's why I collapsed earlier. Because I only have nine days left… Nine days left to live…"

"And we can't be sure that ROSE will remove that curse," Beast Boy said, clutching his fist.

Not fully realizing it until now, the impact of the truth caused Raven to almost fall to the ground. "I—I only have over a week left to live…"

"We'll find ROSE," Joshua assured her. "Who knows? Maybe it'll help us. The radar said the third piece is near here. It was inside the house that you were just it but it seems like it just left."

"The girl!" Raven realized. "The piece must be on the girl!"

Running back towards the villagers, Raven hastily Scanned the area. Immediately the various thoughts of the villagers rang in her ears and she did her best to zone them out. Suddenly, she saw a bright light and stopped Scanning, running towards the source of the light. Finding the little girl, she said to her, "Hi there. Look I need your help. There's something you have that I really need. Something that I can use to stop the Taboo. Will you help me?"

"Of course," the girl nodded. "What do you need?"

Looking the girl up and down, Raven's attention was caught on the necklace the girl was wearing—a pendant in the shape of a circle. "An 'O'," she muttered. "'O' for ROSE."

"Can I please have your necklace?"

The girl nodded, and explained that her mother had given it to her. She continued to explain that a strange lady had given the pendant to her mother. "I think her name was… High Lady Azar, or something…"

Raven nodded as she was given the necklace. "That sounds about right." Taking out the two pieces she already had, Raven brought them together and watched as the necklace shimmer in light and transform into a piece of the key, magically fusing itself with the other two pieces. "Three down, one to go."

She Scanned the key to make sure it was right, and was pleased to see that it shown brilliantly white. Raven then looked up at the girl and heard the girl's thoughts: "Wow, this lady is so pretty. I know she can stop the Taboo, I just know it!"

Raven was touched by the girl's thoughts and wondered what the other villagers were thinking. Standing up, she Scanned the villagers and heard their thoughts:

"That girl, she's something else. She can save us."

"Lady Raven, please save us. Please do!"

"I know you can help. You're our Angel sent from Heaven above, after all."

"I remember when you were just a little girl. What a fine, brave, strong woman you've become."

"We're all depending on you. You might not realize it, but we need you."

"You're our last hope."

"You're our only hope."

Raven felt her heart beat fast, touched by how much the villagers believe in her. She knew then that she had to stop the Taboo, no matter what. These were her people; she couldn't let them down.

"Raven!" she heard Joshua cry. Looking towards him, she unwittingly Scanned him once again…

…

What she saw now was much different than the previous two times. There was a thick white fog surrounding her again, but this time the fog did not completely clear as it did before. She could only see some vague shapes but could make out that she was on the cliff as usual—only this time she saw herself standing on the cliff rather than lying unconscious. Raven saw herself brushing aside her long hair as it blew against the wind, silently smiling.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of footsteps as someone approached her. She turned around to see the mysterious figure that was running towards Raven. It was Joshua, who was holding something in his hand.

She saw that the Raven that stood on the cliff had also heard Joshua approaching and had turned around, mumbling, "J—Joshua?" The man stopped before her and, with twinkling eyes and a smile like he was telling a joke, pulled out the thing he had been holding in his hand—a gun—and pointed it at Raven.

And he fired.

Raven saw herself fall down.

…

"It was you!" Raven cried out as soon as she had finished Scanning. "You!"

She looked up angrily to see both Joshua and Beast Boy staring at her, confused. "What?" Beast Boy asked her. "Raven, what are you talking about?"

"Yeah, Raven," Joshua cheekily asked her. "What are you talking about? Everything alright?"

"You were the one!" Raven continued despite being out of breath from the Scanning. Pushing Beast Boy aside and walking up towards Joshua and looking at him straight in the eye, she declared, "It was you all along. You're the one…"

"Raven…?" Beast Boy said from behind her.

"You're the one that killed me!"

As her eyes began to burn with anger, she saw Joshua raise his eyebrows as if he was surprised, but quickly compose himself and stepped even closer, staring directly into her eyes with an unflinching snicker.

"So what if I did?"

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	6. The Missing Piece in His Life x Past

_**Secret Report 6**_

_Allow me to define the role of the Composer. He is the creator of the World and its ruler. He essentially writes the rules of reality and can rewrite it at his own will. He has limitless capabilities and has the ability to do whatever he pleases. But he has a conscience and a good will, which thus limits him on the basis of morals. He is immortal and extremely powerful but not invincible; he can be killed. A new Composer only arises when the previous one is defeated, which is very much possible, but also very much unlikely considering his immense power. Should a new Composer arise, he would then have the ability to rewrite the rules of the World. Essentially, he is a god-like figure. Strictly speaking, "god" is not exactly correct, as the Composer is omnipotent, but not omniscient nor omnipresent. "Creator" seems like a more appropriate title, or "All-Powerful Ruler." In addition, the Angels and Demons are aware of his identity, but the Taboo are not. In concern with the Taboo, the Composer only acts and speaks through the Conductor. The Conductor speaks to the Taboo on behalf of the Composer as his representative; none of the Taboo have ever seen the Composer with their own eyes before. Or at least, if they have, they did not know it was him._

…

The woman paused as she felt something under her foot. Bending over and picking it up, she saw to her surprise that it seemed to be a jigsaw puzzle piece. She curiously examined it and placed it inside her pocket, continuing on her path inside the large building.

Her name was Rayne Lockart, a twenty-year old woman with long, brown, hair, beautiful face, and a fearless spirit. She was newly hired to be the secretary for one of the people who worked in this building—her part time job so she could get enough money to attend college and fulfill her dreams of becoming an architect. Until then, she would be just another worker in the Interplan—a secret interplanetary police. Emphasis on the word 'secret'. Because her father was once a member of the Interplan, she easily got work there and was able to bargain for a high pay.

Walking inside and riding the elevator up to the seventh floor, she quickly found the office of the man she was assigned to: a Mr. Richard Burke, who was just slightly older than her. Walking inside and examining it, she saw that the office was clean and empty, with few furnishings and no decorations. The one thing that caught her eye, however, was a large jigsaw puzzle on the wall that depicted a beautiful piano. She noticed there was a piece missing and immediately took out the puzzle piece she found outside on the ground earlier. Reckoning that it had fallen off when the movers brought the puzzle into the office, Rayne carefully placed the missing piece into the gap, pleased that it fit perfectly.

Turning absentmindedly towards the door, she saw that there was a man there who had been watching her—a man in his early twenties with dark hair and a rather grim face.

"M—Mister Burke?" she stammered in embarrassment.

"Yeah," he answered her. "Are you the new secretary?" She nodded, to which he gruffly answered, "Leave. Your own office is next door."

She hurriedly left his office, but not before she heard him say to her, "And don't EVER touch my stuff again!"

Rayne sighed as she walked into her own office. So this was her new boss. She set her bag onto her new desk and reached inside, rummaging through her things and pulling out a small photograph of a man and a woman. "Mom, Dad," she said to them. "I'll make it through this. Whatever kind of guy Burke is and whatever kind of job this is, I'll make it through. I'll go to college and become an architect. I'll make you guys happy, alright?"

She placed the photograph down with a heavy heart. How long has it been since the accident? Three years now? Shaking off the thought, she kissed the photograph gently and began to unpack her things.

…

The next week, Rayne presented to Richard a list of numbers correlating to different squads in the Interplan, her first interaction with him since her first day at work.

"Aiwha – 2, Aquila – 2, Aurek – 6, Blue – 1, Bravo – 1, Delta – 3, Galaar – 0, Gamma – 0, Hyperion – 1…" she recited to him, eventually ending with, "…Yayak – 4, Zero Five – 3. In total, 93."

Richard, in turn, only nodded and said to her, "Thank you. Keep up the good work."

She prepared to leave, but out of curiosity, stopped herself and asked him, "Sir, if I may ask, what do those numbers mean?"

"No one's told you?" he said in response, raising his eyebrow in surprise. "Those are the list of casualties this week."

"C—casualties?" she gasped. "But there are ninety-three listed!"

"Yes. And…?"

"You mean to tell me that ninety-three people died this week?"

"It was a pretty dangerous mission," he absentmindedly replied. "It was a rank B one. Ninety-three is a good number for rank B missions. Generally anything below one hundred casualties is a good number for rank B missions."

"You—" she said in a startled voice. "You're not affected by any of this? Ninety-three of your own men just died and you're okay with it?"

Richard sighed and placed his hands together saying, "Look, I've been in this business for some years now. In the Interplan, death is just an everyday thing. It's nothing, so I suggest you get used to it."

"How am I supposed to just 'get used to it'?" she cried. "Ninety-three people lost their lives! Ninety-three people just lost their hopes and their dreams and their future." Something told her to stop—perhaps her racing heart or her shaking fingers—but she pressed further. "Ninety-three families are going to get a letter saying their loved one just died. Gone forever. Ninety-three souls are completely gone, shattering the lives of everyone they knew and love and you say that's nothing?"

"Look, here," the man said, raising his voice. "What I believe is nothing you have to worry about. You want to know what I believe? I believe humans are the most selfish beings to ever exist. I mean, look at other animals. Dogs, cats, birds… they all know their place and their limitations. They all know and accept the fact that they die and don't try to do anything about it. Humans… they keep trying to live forever. Humans always want more than they can have. They disrespect the limitations nature had set up for them and instead keep on trying to cure this, cure that, "everlasting life woo-hoo". I mean how selfish is that? How selfish are we to want to live more than life and destiny tells us to?"

"So people can just die and you think that's fine?" Finally gaining the strength to stop herself and realizing that she was putting her job on the line, Rayne bit her lip and excused herself, leaving Richard with a baffled look on his face.

Later that day, Richard was visited by a man whom he thought he'd never see again. "Loc!" he exclaimed as his former partner entered his office. Giving him a little hug, he offered the man a chair and the two immediately began talking like they used to years ago.

"Wow," Richard started. "How long has it been? Two years?"

"Two years," Loc confirmed. "Two years since Operation Frequent Wind—the mission that separated you, me, and Kane."

"How is Kane? Have you heard from him?"

"He's enjoying his stay in Russia."

"That's good. And you? Where are you stationed now?"

"I'm a bit of a traveler," he explained. "My last mission was in Tibet with Charleson's squad. The one before that was in southern India with Langston. And before that was in Space Station Kidd. I'm here now for a little bit before being assigned to Amsterdam to work with Agent Jeong Woo to investigate the bombing in Sector Daisy."

"Woo… Jeong Woo… Why is that name so familiar?"

"He was from our training class, remember?"

"Oh, that's right!"

"You're forgetful as always."

"You're a wise-ass as always. But your English improved a lot."

"Accent's still there, but I'm pretty good now."

"I see."

"And how about you? What're you doing here?"

"I'm working in Interplan's New York base now. I'm kind of a senior coordinator. Pretty much I send the agents to missions and other things. I'm not out in the field anymore, sadly."

"Pity. You were always good with a shotgun." Loc paused for a moment, then slowly said cautiously. "And… what about Angela Roth?"

Richard was slightly shocked by the question, immediately looking up upon hearing the name. Slowly, he sunk back in his seat and said, "What about her?"

"Have you had any chance of seeing her?"

"…None."

"Well why don't you try?"

"It's been four years, Loc!" he said. "Four years since I've seen her. Back then, I was 19 and she was 18. Now I'm 23 and she's 22. It's been too long. Obviously she would've met another guy by now. We've both changed."

"_You've_ changed. I can see that," Loc admitted.

"What do you mean I've changed?"

"The longer you've been away from Angela, the more different you seem to be. You're quieter, more serious. I remember you've been that way after you left Angela. It's been two years since I've last met you and I can still see you're like that."

"…It's nothing." Richard stood up and walked out the door. "I'm going to get some coffee. Be right back."

"Alright," Loc said as he got up, himself. Walking around the office, he examined the desk, the fish tank, the walls, and the large jigsaw puzzle. Out of curiosity and boredom, he walked outside the office and into the one next door, surprised at first to find a woman there and immediately greeting her.

"Hi, I'm Loc," he said, extending his hand. The woman smiled and shook his hand, replying, "I'm Rayne. Nice to meet you."

"You Richard's secretary?"

"Yeah. I heard you two talking in there. You his friend or something?" she said.

He nodded and replied, "We were partners in Interplan a while back. Kinda went our separate ways few years ago so we're catching up."

"I can't see why you would…" she accidentally slipped out.

"What?"

"N—Nothing!" Rayne instantly protested. "Nothing, I said nothing."

"Oh, I heard you," he said with a smile. "You mean the way he acts?"

"Uhm… a little," she gave an innocent smile. "But honestly, how do you put up with him?"

"Eh, he wasn't always that way. He used to be quite the opposite. Fun, loud, annoying… It's just that, well…" Loc lowered his voice. "A while back, he was deeply in love with this girl named Angela Roth. Been infatuated with her for a year. And they started going out for a while, but then Richard's squad got moved to a different location and he left before saying goodbye. Broke his heart and probably Angela's too. That's why he's that way. He's probably still thinking about her."

"Oh," Rayne gasped. "I see. I never knew that."

"Ah, well," Loc shrugged. "He'd better get over her soon. I hate to see him act so different. He's changed."

"Maybe he just needs to fall in love again," she mused.

"Yeah, probably." His eyes lighted up and he gave Rayne a strange look. "Hey… How about you two…?"

She was confused at first, but slowly understood his words and immediately yelled at a giggling Loc, "NO!"

…

Rayne looked up at the clock sleepily. It was 11:34 PM. She lazily yawned and shut off her computer, having researched nearby colleges for several hours now. Realizing how late it was, she decided it was best to go home now. Shoving her things into her bag and turning off the lights, she locked her office and prepared to leave, but the sound of shuffling feet from Richard's office caught her attention.

"He's still here? It's almost midnight. What's he doing?" she wondered aloud. Opening the door and walking inside, she saw that he was reaching into the fish tank.

"What are you doing? It's late," she asked him, quickly adding "—sir," into her sentence.

He seemed startled that someone was there, but upon recognizing her voice, he answered without looking, "One of the fish died. I'm examining it to see if it has a virus or not. If it does, then it could infect the other fish. Wouldn't want them to die as well."

"You're weird," Rayne scoffed, immediately biting her lip as she did so.

"What?"

She silently cursed her inability to keep her thoughts to herself, but, reasoning that she couldn't possibly make things worse now, continued boldly, "You—you talk about people dying as if it was nothing, saying it's lucky that less than a hundred people died. And yet when a single fish dies, you suddenly get all worked up and scared, concerned for the other fish' safety. Since when does a little fish suddenly have more importance and value than a human being?"

He seemed surprised by the question and was silent, only managing to mumble in reply, "That's… not of your business."

Stepping forward, she bravely said despite her conscience, "When you say people can just die and it means nothing to anyone else, then it becomes my business. When you say up to my face that people can die and it won't mean anything, then it becomes my business. When you say that to me—me, whose life was changed forever by a car accident years ago that killed my mother and put my father in a coma when I was just seventeen years old—then it becomes my business. Is it wrong then, like you say? Is it wrong then, to wish that my mother is still alive? Is it selfish and arrogant for me to beg the doctors to do something, anything, to keep my comatose father alive? Is it evil of me to ask them to keep him living, keep him living, keep him alive just a little longer? That's when it becomes my business to tell you that you are wrong. You are wrong, Richard Burke, in so many ways."

A deadly silence followed as the two people simply stared at each other, each one gazing at the other with piercing vision as if they were carefully analyzing each other, waiting and watching for any sign of submission, whether it be a nervous look or a shaking hand. They were like two tigers watching each other intently, both waiting for the other to show the minutest sign of weakness or fear. Finally, it was the male tiger who gave in as he let out a small chuckle. "You know… you're kind of cute when you're mad."

"W—what?"

"Nothing. Forget I said anything," he said nonchalantly. "So… your parents aren't with you, either?"

"You mean your parents are dead, too?" Rayne asked in surprise.

The man nodded. "They were both in the Interplan. My dad was a soldier and my mom was a nurse on the field. Dad was shot through the neck and Mom was blown to pieces when her base was bombed."

"That's… horrifying."

Richard replied with a shrug, "I was really little when they passed so I didn't really get to know them. I grew up with my aunt and uncle and joined Interplan when I was 18. Over the past five years I've worked my way up to here." He paused for a moment, then added slyly, "You know, in the sense that our parents are dead—except your father of course—we're a lot alike."

The stiffness in the air had loosened up and the tone in Richard and Rayne's voice slowly became less tense and more casual and friendly. "No way," Rayne shot back half-playfully. "Just 'cause our lives are crap doesn't mean we're anything alike."

"And why not?"

"Because," she said smugly. "I'd never associate myself with stupid people like you."

"Oh?" Richard's eyebrows shot up, intrigued at her remark. "What makes you think I'm stupid, Miss Lockart?"

"Because you're rich," she answered plainly. "Rich people are always stupid, no exception."

"Well, what if I'm not? I'm not rich or stupid; I'm smart and poor."

"You're not smart and poor, _I'm_ smart and poor. You're stupid and rich." She stuck out her tongue impishly.

The tiniest smile cracked on the ends of Richard's mouth as he continued, "Well then, what makes you smart?"

"I'm smart enough that if you were to ask me out for coffee, I'd say no."

He scoffed, "Wow, this girl. Guess what, Shirlock, I wasn't ever going to ask you out for coffee in the first place!"

"Well that's exactly what makes you stupid." Rayne grinned broadly, knowing full well she had won their little argument. Richard had realized she had won, as well, and let out a little laugh—barely audible, but a laugh nonetheless.

The woman was a little stunned by the sound of her boss laughing, for she had never heard him laugh in any way before. He, too, seemed a little astonished by his own laugh and momentarily asked her, "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" she asked in a confused voice.

"You—," he pointed at her curiously. "For a second there you… You felt a lot like—well like someone I used to know."

"You—you mean Angela?"

Richard shot her an accusatory look. "How did you know? Did Loc tell you? He told you, didn't he?" he demanded.

"Y—yes," came the meek reply.

"That big-mouthed son of a…" the man muttered.

"Look, Mr. Burke, it might not be my place to say this, but I'm sure Angel's doing great. And I know she'd want you to move on as well."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He gave Rayne a small, shy smile and said in his most inconspicuous voice possible, "So how about that coffee?"

"W—what?"

"There's a good place nearby. Nice and hand-brewed. They're open all night long."

"Um, you're kind of my boss. You know that, right?"

"Hey don't get the wrong idea," he immediately said, waving his arms. "We're just going as friends. Acquaintances, more like. And besides, you're twenty, right? I'm twenty-three, only older by three years. That's normal, isn't it?"

"I guess…"

He winked at her and motioned her out the office. "Come on, my treat."

…

Richard let out a large yawn as he opened the door to his house. He walked inside, flipped out the light switch, and was startled to find Loc sitting on the sofa, staring at him.

"Loc! What're you doing in my house?" he demanded, clutching his heart in shock.

"You invited me over, remember?" the Asian man said. "I said I could barely afford a good hotel and you offered me your guest room for the night? You forget that already?" As Richard innocently nodded, Loc got up and muttered, "You frikkin' idiot."

"Sorry, I was at the coffee shop nearby with Rayne."

Loc stopped in his tracks and his eyebrows instantly shot up. "Rayne?" he said. "As in your secretary, Rayne?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"Oh, no reason," he answered with a smile. "So how was it?"

"It was nice, actually. I feel we both had a good time. The coffee was delicious, too."

"I figure it went really nice since you can't stop smiling," Loc teased.

"Aw don't think stuff like that, man! Rayne and I are just friends!" Richard waved off the very idea of being attracted to her.

"You know, Rich," his friend said. "Ever since you left Angela, you acted different. You weren't Richard Burke anymore; you've changed. Now, right now, it's like you're back to being Richard again. It's like that woman just brought you back. That's what I think, anyway."

"Whatever, dude," he scoffed in return. "No more romantic movies for you. But I do feel really perked up right now. Now that I think about it, I feel really great right now. It's probably the coffee."

Loc, being the much wiser out of the two, played along. "I bet it was the coffee. How was it, by the way?"

"A lot better than it normally was," Richard replied as he crashed onto the sofa. "I honestly don't remember it ever being so good. Really perked me up. It was… it was… ah, what's the word…?"

"…Just what you needed?" the man finished.

"Yeah, that's it, Loc! That's it. Just what I needed. That coffee was just what I needed. After all these years it was just what I—" Richard suddenly stopped in midsentence as he made eye contact with his friend and slowly understood his words. "You… you're not talking about the coffee, are you Loc?"

He shook his head and said with a wise and caring smile, "Buddy, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

Loc did not believe it was the coffee that was just what Richard needed, but something else entirely. Someone who had started to change him back to who he once was. Someone who a few days ago had placed a jigsaw puzzle piece into the missing hole in the puzzle in his office and had inadvertently become the missing piece in Richard's life.

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	7. Sorrow x Present

**Just a little background music. Go to YouTube and paste this into the search box and click the video that shows up. Play it around the final scene.**

**watch?v=oAku948y1pc**

* * *

_**Secret Report 7**_

_There is a single question that has puzzled me for some time now. There currently exists two timelines, split by the death of Raven. In the other timeline, Raven had died—perished in the Void shortly after she was freed of Paen many years ago. Many years after, the Azarath in that timeline was on the brink of destruction with only a few survivors left, led by none other than Sanae, the Conductor, himself. These few survivors found the Forbidden Scroll and used it to transport Raphael back in time and save Raven. In this single act of changing the past, reality was split into two and two separate and distinct but parallel timelines were formed: the original—in which Raven had died in the Void—and the timeline we are in now—in which Raven had survived the incident._

_But why did he do that? Part of the Conductor's plan is to kill Raven—he cannot be completely successful unless she is dead. In that timeline, she was already dead so why did he propose to send Raphael back in time to save Raven? Everything was going according to his plan so why did he decide to bring Raven back? The answer, I realized, lies not within Raven's life but within the Forbidden Scroll. The Conductor needs the Forbidden Scroll because it contains the spells necessary to activate Via Purifico. Additionally, he needed a power source because using his own power would weaken him too much. By proposing the idea to bring back Raven, he would kill two birds with one stone by providing for his self in the other timeline—that is, the one we live in now—both the Forbidden Scroll and a power source (Raven)._

_On a separate note, an important thing to note is that the Composer is unbounded by time just as he is unbounded by space. There exists only one Composer, whose existence is not affected at all by the timelines. He exists above the timelines and can freely move from one to another. And it should be this way; after all, what would happen if two Composers were to meet? Their magical auras would collide as soon as they existed in the same realm. The result would be catastrophic to say the very least._

_The last thing I wanted to address was Seymour… a very interesting man to say the least. He had a plan many years ago to use Paen and destroy the World, hoping to bring death to everyone in an attempt to save them from suffering. A World-wide euthanasia, if you will. Of course, this plan was very ignorant of him as that would lead to repercussions that even he could not have known, but it was intriguing that a simple human could think of such a goal. Perhaps that was why the Conductor picked him to control last year._

_Seymour now plans to kill the Conductor and eventually the Composer. He lusts for revenge and for power, and since he retains most of the Conductor's knowledge and power, he does indeed pose a threat to both the Conductor and the Composer. Perhaps I'll need to interfere…_

…

Science shows that in times of crisis, our brain functions much more slowly, and everything around us seems to happen in slow motion. In these times, everything seems to just happen and before you realize what was going on, so many things have already happened in so little time.

"So what if I did?" Joshua's words echoed in Raven's ears.

"W—what?" She felt her body shiver in fear and astonishment. He—he admitted it? He freely admitted he was the one who had shot her?

"Joshua," Beast Boy murmured with a stunned look on his face. "Is it true? Did—did you… _kill_ Raven? That was you?"

"I _do_ wonder," Joshua said calmly without the faintest sign of fear. "What would you do, Raven, if I was the one who had shot you?" He chuckled as he saw Raven's face growing red with anger. "I'm guessing you'd be as mad as you are now."

"Shut up!" she hissed at him. "Don't toy with me now, Joshua. Do you realize how important this whole thing is? I can't afford to lose so just tell me now—were you or were you not the one that shot me with that gun?" barked Raven.

"Raven…" Joshua's face suddenly changed into a sorrowful, almost apologetic one. He then immediately broke into a snicker and said snarkily, "Your face is priceless."

"What?" Raven's eyes widened with fury. "Why you little—"

"I'm sorry," a cold voice spoke. "But am I interrupting something?"

Raven and Beast Boy both froze with fear as they instantly recognized the voice. Joshua, on the other hand, remained as calm as ever and looked behind Raven, saying to the figure who had spoken, "Well doesn't this look familiar?" Raven turned around to come face to face with the man whom she desperately wished was just her imagination.

It was Seymour. A man as tall as stone with a smile and a voice as cold as ice.

"So I've found you at last," he hissed greedily. "You have no idea how long I've searched for you."

"Me?" Raven wondered aloud. "What do you want, Seymour?"

"I'm not letting you get away like last time," he continued. "Last time was a screw-up, but this time you're dead."

"I don't think you heard her question," Joshua said. "What do you want?"

"You know very well," he smiled. "Your life!"

In a blink of the eye, Raven readied herself for battle, knowing she was much stronger now with her new pendant, but was suddenly aware of a loud ringing sound in her ears. Her head began throbbing in pain and she fell to the ground, clutching her head and letting out a cry of pain. What was happening? She suddenly became out of breath and wondered if it was because of her timer like last time. No—last time her timer was burning. This time it was her head that was the source of her pain. It wasn't a burning sensation either—more like a massive headache like migraines.

Beast Boy tried to help her but she shook her head, motioning him to fight Seymour. She knew Beast Boy and Joshua could defeat Seymour without her help. She wasn't sure if she could trust Joshua right now, especially since he had killed her, but she knew he would defeat Seymour. Confronting Joshua would have to wait 'til later. Right now, she couldn't focus on anything except the pain and ringing in her mind.

Raven sat on the ground and clutching her head while Seymour was fighting Joshua and Beast Boy. Images were a blur around her. Suddenly, her vision became blurry and cloudy and she lost all feeling as memories flooded back into her.

…

It was the day she was shot. Everything she saw was similar to when she Scanned Joshua, but rather than seeing the events occur like an outside observer, she saw herself in her own body, from her own perspective. She was remembering what was truly happening this time, and could see everything clearly now.

She remembered it all.

She had been standing on the cliff, waiting for Beast Boy to come, when she heard footsteps approaching her. Turning around, she saw Joshua run up to her and pull out a gun. Pointing the gun in her direction, he pulled the trigger. She had fallen down in shock.

But the bullet didn't hit her. The bullet Joshua fired wasn't meant for her. Instead, it went right past her and hit _someone else_ who was standing behind her.

"Ah!" she remembered hearing someone cry out. "I blew it!"

Turning around, she remembered that the person behind her was none other than Seymour, who was holding a gun, himself and was clutching his right shoulder, which was bleeding from the gunshot. "S—Seymour?" she remembered saying.

"No," he had said. "I'm not letting you get away. Today… YOU DIE!" She remembered Seymour pulling out his own gun and pointing it at her.

And firing it.

…

Raven snapped back in reality. She realized the truth now—the truth about how she had died. Joshua wasn't the one who killed her—Seymour was. Joshua must have somehow known Seymour was coming and so he had come to protect her. Joshua had come to stop Seymour from killing her but was just too late. Seymour was the one that shot her, not Joshua. The trauma and shock of getting shot must have caused her to forget what had happened. Being in the presence of both Seymour and Joshua, who were both there when she died, must have triggered her memory.

Raven jumped up just as Joshua and Beast Boy were suddenly propelled a few feet away by an attack by Seymour. Just in the nick of time, Raven readied herself to fight and declared to the man, "I remember now, Seymour. I remember what happened the day I died!"

"Oh do you now?" he smiled.

"You were there, weren't you? You were there, and it was you!" she panted as she clutched her pendant, ready to fight. "Why did you do it? You said I wasn't your enemy—that you were after the Composer!"

"Oh child," he shook his head with a pitiful smile. "There is so much you still don't understand." Tauntingly, he continued, "How does it feel to be so ignorant, to think you know everything when in reality there is so much you don't know? That there are secrets and hidden truths all around you that you cannot even fathom? How does it feel?"

"Well whatever pain that is, I'm going to make you feel that tenfold!"

"You think you have it all, don't you?" Seymour declared. "You think you're destined to be this famed warrior who will stop all the evil-doers, right? You think you're some kind of Chosen One written in a prophecy who will stop all evil?"

"There's the Prophecy of ROSE," Raven pointed out as she glared at him.

He laughed. "Your prophecy? Your incomplete prophecy, you mean. I telepathically listened in on your conversation that day and it seemed like there was a certain line that your President omitted."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your President discreetly hid a line from the prophecy he asked you to read. Would you like to hear the full version?" Seymour cleared his throat and recited:

"_The One Who Conducts draws near, bringing with him his 'Way of Purifying'._

_The One Who Composes looms close, lying beneath the shadows with a Raven perched in his hand._

_And inside the Raven's beak is a ROSE she must find—as bright as the stars that will drive away the Ones Who Conduct and Compose._—ah! Here is the omitted part.—

_And with the sacrifice of the One she holds most dear, she will grant to the Composer his Wonderful World."_

"'The sacrifice of the One she holds most dear'?" Raven said. "What does that mean?"

"Why don't you ask your President? The one who hides so many secrets from you?"

"You're lying!" she retorted.

"So many things you don't know, and yet the answers are right under your nose," he continued to taunt her. A sphere of energy appeared in his hands as he began to conjure up his power, apparently preparing for one final attack. Beast Boy and Joshua ran up to Raven, he told them to stay behind her.

"He taught me this power," Seymour cackled. "This enormous power, he taught me it with the instruction to use it to destroy you!"

"He?" Beast Boy said with gritted teeth. "Who's 'he'?"

"The one whom you trust," came the reply. "The one who you'd least expect to betray you."

"It can't be…" Joshua muttered. "Not—"

The man of stone sneered in joy as the two spheres of energy in his hands grew larger and larger, "It's funny how much we can trust someone who is willing to stab us behind the back, isn't it?" Pointing the energy bolt directly at Raven, just as he had pointed the gun, Seymour cried, "He told me to destroy you, Raven. And so I will. I will!"

The energy bolt fired straight towards Raven, who swiftly chanted, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos" and created a shield of magic. Unfortunately, the power of her shield, even when aided by her pendant, was no match for the powerful magic of Seymour's energy bolt. The magical black shield began to crack and weaken, and Raven struggled just to keep the shield together.

"It's—it's no use," she realized. "He's too powerful. I—I can't do this."

"It's the spell," Joshua said. "The spell's too strong for you."

"You can do it, Raven," Beast Boy said. "I have faith."

"No," she grunted. "You guys—you have to get out of here. It's no use, I can't hold on any… longer…"

"I'm not leaving you now!" Beast Boy yelled.

"I—I can't…" she gasped. "I'm—I'm going to lose. I can't win this, Beast Boy. I can't! I'm… finished."

In the blink of an eye, so many things happened that Raven wasn't sure what was going on. She heard her magical shield break and saw it shatter before her eyes. She saw the energy bolt heading straight for her and saw Seymour's face brighten up with glee. She felt Joshua push her aside and saw him stand in front of her. She saw him wink, saw him smile his stupid, cocky smile, and whisper something to her. Arms outstretched, Joshua stood in front of her and shielded her from the blast with his own body.

Before she knew what was going on, everything had already happened. She heard a scream. She saw Seymour running away. She heard Beast Boy calling out Joshua's name and following a trail of blood. She felt herself begin to follow the trail of blood as well.

The blood led to a cliffside near the outskirts of Azarath. Raven followed the blood to a limp body that Beast Boy was tending to. She heard Beast Boy mumble something along the lines of, "Why'd you jump in front of Raven, you idiot!"

Making her way to Joshua's nearly dead body, she heard him say in a weak voice, "Because I owe her. Didn't she say I was the one who killed her?"

"Joshua," she found herself whispering. "I—"

Science shows that in times of crisis, our brain functions much more slowly, and everything around us seems to happen in slow motion. In these times, everything seems to just happen and before you realize what was going on, so many things have already happened in so little time.

She saw Seymour appear again in a cloud of smoke. She saw Joshua and Beast Boy struggle to get to their feet. She saw Seymour raise his hand. She saw a large shard of crystal ice roughly the size of a spear form in the air. She saw Seymour mouth, "Death awaits." She saw him propel the spear of crystal ice towards her.

A movement so quick like a flash of light, and she saw Joshua standing in front of her once more, arms outstretched once more, twinkling eyes and a smile as if he was telling a joke. And as the spear of ice impaled him through the chest, she heard him whisper the same words he had whispered when shielding her from the energy bolt.

"_But Raven, I thought you couldn't afford to lose. Give up on yourself, and you give up on the World."_

Seymour disappeared with a smile.

Joshua's body fell backwards and off the cliff.

Beast Boy cried out Joshua's name.

Raven screamed and jumped after him.

Darkness.

Deadly silence.

…

"Raven?" Beast Boy called in the dark rocky cavern. "Raven, where are you?" He whimpered in fear, not because he was scared but because he was fearful for Raven and especially Joshua.

He barely knew what was going on but he did know that Joshua was nearly a corpse from Seymour's first attack. How could he possibly survive being impaled through the chest? What Beast Boy didn't understand was why did Joshua save Raven's life? Twice? Raven had claimed that Joshua was the one who had shot her—who had _killed_ her. He didn't seem to deny it. So why did he save her?

"Joshua, that idiot," he murmured as he searched the cavern that Joshua and Raven had fallen in. "You'd better live." He clutched his fist and kept going.

Beast Boy then wondered what Seymour had meant by 'he'. From what Seymour'd said, Beast Boy realized that there was a traitor amongst them, someone who had taught Seymour some extremely powerful magic and instructed him to kill Raven. This must be the same man who had tipped off the Taboo that they were searching for ROSE. But who?

"Could it be… the Composer?" Beast Boy wondered. That would make sense. The Composer had informed his Taboo that Raven was searching for ROSE and then taught Seymour the spell to destroy Raven. But that meant the Composer was someone in Polaris—someone whom they trust. Beast Boy sighed, "It's like Sanae all over again. But who could the Composer be?"

Figuring out that Sanae was the Conductor was not too hard—he had always seemed very suspicious from the start. The only reason no one had figured it out before Raven was simply because they didn't suspect there was a traitor in their midst. Now he knew that the Composer was someone in Polaris. But who could it be?

The President, Beast Boy wondered. No, that doesn't sound right. The President and his Polaris were enemies with the Conductor and his Taboo. It didn't make sense for the President to be the Composer.

Raphael was a clear no. He had known Raphael too long that it was absolutely absurd to suspect him of anything.

The Captain, Vice President of Polaris, was also a no. There seemed to be absolutely no reason for him to secretly be the mastermind behind the whole thing.

Soel. Of course not! Soel had been like an father figure of sorts to them, the friendly neighborhood Mr. S that everyone liked. What motive would he have to have plotted against Raven since the very beginning?

But then that leaves no one. No one could possibly be the Composer.

But then Beast Boy found Raven kneeling next to Joshua's lifeless body, and all thoughts were washed away as he ran towards them in a frenzy.

"Raven!" he cried. "Is Josh—" His sentence was cut off as Raven instinctively jumped up and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing. Placing his own arms around her, he looked down to see Joshua's corpse, lifeless and dead. His eyes were wide open and his mouth was agape. He had many cuts and wounds from Seymour's energy blast but most noticeable was a large speak of crystalline ice that protruded from his chest. A pool of blood surrounded him and his black t-shirt and white sleeveless jacket were stained scarlet red.

"He's—he's cold," Raven blubbered through her sobs. "Beast Boy, he's—Joshua's dead."

"It's—" he tried to comfort her. "It's alright, Rae. Everything's gonna be al—"

"No it's not!" she screamed in his ear. Pulling away and returning to the corpse on the ground, Raven wept, "He's dead because of me!"

"No he's not, don't you say that, Rae!"

"It's the truth!" She felt her tears clog her throat as she struggled to let out the words. "I—I didn't trust him. He's dead because I didn't trust him."

"Rav—"

"I accused him of killing me!" she cried as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I called him a liar and a murderer when in the end, he was saving me!" As she looked up at his face, Beast Boy could see her eyes were red and that two streams of tears could be seen on her face running from her eyes to her chin. "I thought he had shot me that day," she explained. "But then I remembered. I remembered it all. He wasn't trying to kill me. He was trying to save me—save me from Seymour!

"I accused him of killing me. I—I made him feel like—like he owed me something. Like he owed his life for me. That's why he—That's why…

"Joshua!" she sobbed. "Wake up you stupid dumb-ass! Wake up! You're always so lazy! Get up! Wake up! Wipe that stupid—that stupid look off your face!" But no matter what she did, he did not wake up.

"Joshua!" she sobbed. "I didn't even get to tell you I'm sorry. I never got to apologize for calling you a killer."

"Stop it, Rae," Beast Boy said, on the verge of tears, himself. "Quit it. Just stop."

But she refused, and with all her might, she wailed into the sky as she clenched Joshua's cold arm, "I'm sorry, Joshua!"

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	8. The Last Piece x Present

_**Secret Report 8**_

_My heart aches painfully. Joshua's plan… I cannot allow it to happen. For should his plan ever reach success… I might have to fight him, myself. He is indeed a very close friend of mine, but he knows not what he does. If he carries out his plan, he'd find me. And he'd have to fight me. I do not wish for that to happen, which is why I must stop him at all costs._

_Raven… she's helping Joshua now. She's helping him defeat the Conductor. And when she defeats him, doubtless she'll find the Composer next. The Composer… I—I can't let that happen. I've grown something of an attachment towards Raven, seeing her progress throughout the years. But if she helps Joshua, she too will have to die. I must stop Raven at all costs. I must stop her. I can't bring myself to kill either one of them with my own hands, so I'll have to stop them indirectly. Seymour remains my only choice. If I can help him become stronger, if I can make him powerful enough, hopefully he can stop Raven._

_But Seymour is looking for the Composer as well. Indeed, should he eliminate Raven, he'll undoubtedly come after me next, knowing that I possess great power. But of course, no matter how much power I give him, he could never match my own._

_I'm sorry, Raven. I'm sorry, Joshua. But I must stop you._

…

Raven was a most beautiful woman, twenty-nine years of age but having all the wisdom of a wise old monk. She wore a violet leotard covered by a purple robe that matched her long hair—which she had let grow down to the middle of her back—and her gems of eyes. Her normally gray skin was now had a very vibrant and healthy glow to it, for she had lived almost completely in Azarath for the past year. Due to her past sufferings—being used by her father to destroy the world, being taken over by Paen to destroy all existence, having lost the love of her life for ten years, and now dealing with the death of a close friend who had died protecting her—Raven is now one of the wisest people in Azarath. She had long discarded her old stoic, unfeeling ways from her teenage years and now had a bright optimistic view on life due to her experiences with Beast Boy.

Raven looked around with frantic eyes that bounced from here to there, observing every inch of the room she was in. Clutching her arms securely, she slowly rocked back and forth in her chair as Beast Boy spoke to the President. It was the day after Joshua's death, and Raven still had trouble processing what had happened. All she could remember was that Joshua had died protecting her from Seymour, and that the person who had shot her weeks ago was, in fact, Seymour and not Joshua as she had believed.

Joshua was dead now because of her…

She and Beast Boy had been escorted to the President's own home—an enormous white mansion on a private island off the coast of Italy, surrounded by a beautiful garden filled with flowers of every species encased in green shrubbery. The mansion contained three stories, each with too many rooms to count made from the most precious wood and marble.

When he and Raven had arrived, Beast Boy commented on what a beautiful house it was. The President thanked him graciously and said that construction for the mansion was led by him, mentioning that his now deceased wife had designed the blueprints for the entire mansion, including the surrounding gardens, and that he had built the house as a gift for her.

Now as Raven sat in a chair and examined his study, the President was listening intently as Beast Boy recounted the events that had occurred the day before.

"In conclusion, we now have three pieces of ROSE," Beast Boy said. "But at the cost of a comrade."

"I see," the President replied as his face seemed to wrinkle even more. "That is celebratory news if not for that one great grievance. I—I pray for his soul… But now is not the time to grieve because now we must focus on obtaining the final piece of ROSE. Do you know where it is?"

"No, sir," Beast Boy replied. "All we know is that it is in Earth somewhere."

"Joshua's radar should still be able to detect it. Do you have it with you?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Rest up a little and when you are ready, go find the last piece."

"Yes sir."

"Oh, but one more thing. How old was Joshua?" the President inquired.

Beast Boy thought for a moment, then answered, "He should be 28."

"Oh…" the President said with sad eyes. "Only 28… He was still so young."

"President?" Raven suddenly spoke.

"Yes, Raven?"

"The Composer… The Composer is the leader of the Taboo, isn't he?"

The man seemed a bit shaken but immediately composed himself and answered, "Yes, that is correct. How did you know?"

"Joshua told us," Raven answered. "He said everyone knew already. Everyone except us. Everyone knows that the Composer is the creator of the Taboo and the Conductor is only his representative. Everyone but us. Why? Why didn't you tell us?" she demanded.

The President shook his head apologetically and answered, "Not _everyone_ knows, Raven. And I would like to keep it that way. I am sorry I did not inform you sooner, but you must understand I couldn't have told you at that time. I suspect that someone inside Polaris is the Composer. Had I told you about the truth in front of everyone, the Composer might've been alarmed and cover up his tracks even more. I was afraid we'd lose the tiny bit of evidence we already have."

"I—" Raven started, but sighed and realized it wasn't worth it to press the matter further. "I'm sorry, President. I think I'm still a little shaken up from yesterday."

"I understand. I think we all are," he replied with a nod. "The important thing to do is trust each other. Trust me, like I trust you."

She looked up at him with a smile as she remembered Soel's words from before. "Trust your partner," she echoed. Raven noticed that on the wall behind the President was the Polaris insignia—a large stylized bird with a star for a head. Surrounding the bird was a strange quote:

"To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this world may be as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be."

The President seemed to notice her attention at the words and asked her, "Do you like that quote, Raven?"

"Oh?" she said. "No, it's just that… It sounds vaguely familiar. Have I heard that before?"

"It's the oath that you made when you first became a Paragon division Polaris soldier last year, remember?"

"Oh, that's right," she recalled.

"It feels strange. What does it mean?" Beast Boy pondered aloud.

"I'm not quite sure," the aged man admitted. "Soel mentioned those words to me once. Said it was some kind of ancient magical spell or something. I liked the ring in it and made it Polaris' motto. But of course, no one knows it except Paragon division agents."

Raven and Beast Boy remarked that it was a strange quote, then excused themselves and left.

"Do you have the radar?" Raven immediately asked him. "Where's the last piece? Let's get this over with as fast as we can."

"You know," Beast Boy remarked. "I just now realized how dangerous this mission is. Joshua had a plan to be the next Composer. He planned to defeat the Composer and take his place."

"Beast Boy, please—"

"Undoubtedly the Composer must've found out. It must've been him who had taught Seymour that magic and sent him to eliminate Joshua."

"Beast Boy!"

"We're in so much more danger than we realized."

"Beast Boy!" she practically screamed. "Shut up and open the radar. I don't want to hear you go on and on about that, you hear? Shut up and go!"

"Alright, alright." He apologized and took out the radar. Turning it on with much difficulty, he managed to project a holographic image of Earth, showing a single dot blinking at the place where the final piece of ROSE lay.

"What?" he muttered. "That can't be right."

"What? Where is it?" Raven asked.

"It says the piece is in here. It's in this very mansion right now!"

"Really?" she exclaimed, marveling at how lucky they were. "Magnify it. Zoom in. Where is it exactly?"

"Uh lemme see," he mumbled. His eyes widened and he abruptly stopped talking. Beast Boy then looked up at Raven with strange eyes and a gaping mouth.

"What, Beast Boy?" she demanded crossly. "Where is it? Answer me!"

"It's—" he replied. "It's right here."

"Wha—what?"

Beast Boy raised his finger and pointed it at her chest. "Either… either the piece is in you. Or… or _you_ are the last piece of ROSE."

…

It took quite a bit of thinking to figure out exactly what to do. Neither Beast Boy nor Raven had the faintest idea where to go from there, as there was no way they would even think about turning Raven into a key. But tried as they might, they couldn't think of any other possible solution. The only person they could ask for advice was the Captain, who couldn't think of any ideas, either. They didn't bother asking the President or Raphael for help, for the former was busy with his own problems while the latter was too occupied by Azarath affairs. They also didn't dare asking Soel for help because he had taken Joshua's death very badly and nearly broke down in grief.

It was Beast Boy who came up with the idea of using Raven's mirror to enter her mind and possibly extract the piece of ROSE without harming her body. It had worked with Trigon and it might work now.

They teleported to New York and found the mirror—it had been given to Starfire as a wedding present after Raven locked it with a charm to prevent anyone from accidentally entering her mind—with little difficulty. Muttering some enchantments to unlock the mirror, Raven closed her eyes and grabbed Beast Boy's hand tightly as the mirror began to glow and engulf the two in light.

She felt a sort of falling sensation until she felt her feet touch solid ground again. She opened her eyes to find herself in a dark realm, standing on rocky terrain with Beast Boy next to her. Immediately, she felt a strong burning in her right hand as the timer flared up in pain, causing her to fall to the ground and cry out. Beast Boy did what he could to help, but knew that he could do nothing but wait for the pain to subside. The sudden pangs of the timer came more and more frequently with each passing day. He looked at the timer and saw there were only eight days left. And yet they still had no way to remove the timer.

Raven felt dizzy and nauseous as the world seemed to spin around her. The pain soon faded and she stood up, finding to her surprise a man wearing a black jacket standing before her. "Black jacket?" she muttered, quickly realizing, "The Taboo! Beast Boy!" She spun around but only met empty space, for Beast Boy was suddenly nowhere to be found. Looking back at the mysterious figure, she watched as he removed his hood and revealed a menacing face with a sinister smile.

"Sanae," she whispered. "What do you want? Why are you here? What are you doing in my head?"

"I am here through that timer on your hand," he answered simply, pointing at her right hand. "Soon, that timer will reach zero and…" he paused as he chuckled ever so slightly. He knew he didn't need to finish that sentence.

"You monster. I swear I will destroy you and your Composer! I'll make you two pay for what you did to Joshua!"

"What we did to Joshua? What ever do you mean?"

"Don't mess with me, Sanae. You and your Composer taught Seymour some kind of—some kind of magic and ordered him to eliminate me with it. But then Joshua took my place and died protecting me!"

"Surely…" he breathed with a dark voice that echoed in her ears. "You must have known that this was going to happen…"

"How would I know!" she barked back. "All I know is that I'll make you pay dearly. _Very _dearly. Every single drop of blood that Joshua spilled will be the number of times you wished you were dead before I end your miserable existence! You and the Composer!"

The Conductor only proceeded to laugh ferociously upon hearing her threat. Immediately the timer on her hand burned with such throbbing pain that Raven fell to the ground, helpless as she felt her palms were as if on fire. "How can you possibly destroy me," the Conductor whispered. "When you are sprawled on the ground pathetically, like a little rose, wilted and dead?"

"I can…" she whispered in agony. "Because I have to. To avenge Joshua… to protect my people in Azarath… and to save everyone I know and love… I swear to you—I WILL destroy you no matter what it takes!"

And with that, the Conductor disappeared like smoke and the pain on her hand subsided. She suddenly felt a hard, metal object in her right hand and opened her fist to see it was the teeth of a key—the final piece of ROSE.

Beast Boy suddenly appeared behind her, asking her in a confused voice, "Raven, what happened?"

"B—Beast Boy?"

"Yeah… there was this light and I couldn't see anything for a few minutes. You alright?"

"Yeah. Let's get out of here. I have the last piece."

"You do?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Beast Boy…" she said in an almost whimpering voice. "You know, it's never really hit me before."

"What?" he asked.

"That in one week… I'm going to die."

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	9. Love x Present

**Click on this YouTube video and play it in the last scene in New York for maximum effect:**

** watch?v=Z3WucJjgLFo**

* * *

_**Secret Report 9**_

_It is done. Seymour impaled Joshua through the chest with the spell I taught him. The spell was meant for Raven, but Joshua took it, saving her. That Joshua…_

_Raven survived, unfortunately somewhat to my disappointment, but she most likely won't make it far without Joshua. She may not have realized it yet, but he has been her most useful ally. It is doubtful she can face the Conductor without him._

_But what is this that I feel? Why am I disappointed that Raven had survived? Isn't it wrong to feel this way? Isn't it unethical? I had chosen to help Seymour because I knew he would be able to kill Raven. He must be the one to eliminate her, because I cannot bring myself to do so. My struggle is strong… What should I feel? I keep telling myself it is all for the best, that it is much better that they die than they live and defeat the Conductor, that it is better that they not face me, that it is much, much better that Joshua and Raven wouldn't have to fight me… But is this the right thing? It's harder for me to rest easy with all these thoughts. Raven… Joshua…_

_Forgive me._

…

Raven had locked herself in her room ever since they had found the last piece of ROSE and completed the key. But now they had just a key and no clues on what it's supposed to open. The Polaris paranormal investigation and research team were already trying to scan the key and find any magical traces on it that could lead to where ROSE was, but no such luck. And now, Beast Boy was knocking on Raven's door, trying desperately to get her out, when suddenly she slid open the door and said to him, "Let's go."

"Go?" he asked curiously. "Go where?"

"Anywhere," she replied. "We're going on a date. When was the last time we had a chance to do that?"

Beast Boy opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, then abruptly closed it, pondering on that thought. He hadn't realized it had been a long time since they've gone on a date, for both had been too busy with Polaris to have some real time to themselves. In fact, a few weeks ago they had planned a date and to meet up on the cliff side near Titans Tower. That was the day she was shot.

"But what about ROSE?" he asked as she grabbed his hand and started pulling him down the hall and into the elevator. "What about the Taboo? We have a mission to—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Raven interrupted by shoving her lips onto his, silencing him with a long and passionate kiss. Pulling back, she then said, "We have a week left to worry about that, but only one last day for ourselves." With a smile she said, "Forget about that today. Today, you're mine."

…

They went to many places. The amusement park, the music store, the mall, the beach, the park, local diners in New York, anywhere they could find. As long as they were together that day. That was what Raven wanted—to be with Beast Boy one last time before… But the most important place she wanted to go was the Jackal in Jump City—the place where she and Beast Boy had their first date.

But out of the two of them, only Raven knew this was going to be their last date as well.

As they entered the building, they all recognized the crimson walls with golden accents, the crimson red chairs and tables with golden accents, as well as the chandelier shaped like a titanic ship dangling from the ceiling. It had been eleven years since they've last stepped foot in the Jackal, and yet everything seemed the same way it was eleven years ago. It was as if they had traveled back in time to when they were both eighteen together—young and innocent, still wrapped in fond memories of childhood and first love. Now they were fully grown adults, twenty-nine years old. So much had changed since then, so much had happened. But as they entered the Jackal and sat in the same seats they sat in years ago, they turned eighteen again. If only for a moment, they were children together once more.

Raven and Beast Boy ordered their dinner and ate and ate as they talked and talked. Beast Boy's elfish ears suddenly perked up as they heard the announcer saying into the microphone, "And now is one of the saddest songs I've ever heard in my life, the French song 'Amour'. An oldie but a goldie, as they say. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd prepare your tissues of I were you."

"Amour…" Beast Boy said wistfully. "It's French for 'love'."

"A French love song," Raven mused. "How… unexpected," she added sarcastically.

"Shh, shh, I wanna hear."

A man walked up onto the stage and began strumming his little guitar in a soft, sad manner. And with a soft, milky voice, he began to sing, enunciating each French word with such precision and emotion that it was heavenly.

"Oh my God," Beast Boy said. "These lyrics are so beautiful."

Raven seemed surprised at this. "Beast Boy," she said. "You understand French?"

He turned around and gave her the biggest 'Duhh!' look possible. "I lived in France for ten years, remember?"

"Oh… right…" she said with embarrassment. "Well what does it mean?"

"Uh, let me see…" he muttered. Clearing his throat, Beast Boy proceeded to translate the song for her.

"Love,

Because of that love,

Because of that person,

I have lived until now.

But now,

Once today has passed,

If I never see that person again,

If I never see that person again,

What am I supposed to do?

Of all so many destined ones, we had met

Though I cannot say just why.

We loved, we laughed, we held on fast

And then we said goodbye.

The time we created

And spent together,

I can't forget

I said that we would be together,

That I`ll be right by your side,

I made such promises that I held onto

As dear as my life

But I can't do these things.

It's impossible for me to do them.

To say that I am sorry,

Is something I can't even seem to do.

Love,

Because of that love,

Because of that person,

I have lived until now.

But now,

Once today has passed,

If I never see that person again,

If I never see that person again,

Then…

Before you go to somewhere far away,

I want to look at you just a little longer,

And tell you just how much I love you.

You…

Because of that love,

Because of that person,

Because of that love,

I cry.

Only you know,

That my love is never foolish

It's never foolish, my darling."

As the audience applauded and the singer bowed and left the stage, Raven couldn't help but cry just a little, being careful to shield her tears from Beast Boy's sight. The song had hit her perfectly—had perfectly described the feelings she felt at that moment. Maybe, she thought, it was time to tell him. Tell him that this was the last time they'd see each other again.

"Beast Boy," she started, until the announcer then came on the mike, saying, "Did that break your heart yet, kiddies? No? Well considering most of you didn't understand it, hehe. Alright, prepare your tissues because next is a classic love song written in the '70s and yet still pulls at our heartstrings—_Lover's Tears_."

"Oh!" Beast Boy exclaimed as the distinctly recognizable piano intro began. "Raven, look. It's our song!"

She sighed as a tear escaped her. She found it a bit sad that a song about lost love was 'their song'.

"Beast Boy," she started again as the melodic song began. "This… This is the last time we'll see each other." Beast Boy turned to face her and his smile started to fade.

"What?"

"This is—" she said with a shaking voice. "This is our last date. And the last time you'll see me."

"What are you talking about?" The color in his face began to fade.

"I—" she didn't know where to start. All of a sudden, she blurted out, "Don't you see? Can't you see this?" She waved the timer on her hand at him. "I have six days left, Beast Boy. Six days left to live! And then I'll die."

"No Raven, don't you say that!"

"I'll die, okay? I'll die!"

"Raven!" he shouted, trying to hold back tears which he felt were coming. "Look, we've found the key to ROSE. We can stop all this!"

"No we can't!" she cried helplessly. "We don't even know what ROSE is! For all we know, it could be a lie! The thing is I'm going to die. Just like Joshua, I'm going to die."

"So what are you saying? How is us… breaking up… gonna affect anything?"

"I don't want you to see me like that! Like Joshua… I don't want your last memory of me to be my dead body, bloody and lifeless and cold… I don't want you to see me like that!" Wiping off her tears, she continued. "And don't you remember what Seymour said? The full prophecy that High Lady Azar wrote?

'_And with the sacrifice of the One she holds most dear, she will grant to the Composer his Wonderful World.'_

Don't you remember that?"

"Well what's that supposed to mean?" he asked in a puzzled tone.

"The one I hold most dear is you, Beast Boy!" she sobbed. "If I defeat the Composer, it's foretold that you're going to die!"

"You don't know that. Maybe it's wrong. Maybe it won't come true."

"It won't come true," Raven said. "Because you're off the team."

"What?"

"I talked to the President and the Captain. You're off the mission, Beast Boy. I told them you were going to die if you helped me defeat the Composer. I told them your life is better spared where you can help the Polaris for future years. I assured them I can take on the Composer by myself."

"Raven," his voice shook. "I—I can't believe you did that!"

"I can't bear to see you dead, Beast Boy! I can't, I just can't!"

"You're not going to die!"

"I can't see you dead! Two dead people is not better than one."

"Well how do you expect me to live when you're gone?" he cried out.

"Beast Boy…" she said, as she lowered her head and sobbed while clutching his hand. "Promise me you'll live. Promise me…"

"_Wherever you may be, please hear this plea,_

_Come back and end these tears of misery_

_I long for your embrace, your tender kiss—a moment of bliss,_

_So through the lonely years_

_I'll cry these lover's tears._

_And until my love returns,_

_I'll cry these lover's tears."_

…

At midnight, Beast Boy and Raven left the Jackal and Raven teleported them back to New York City. As they landed, Beast Boy looked around to see this was the same corner where they had agreed to meet for New Year's eleven years before. "It seemed appropriate," Raven shrugged, holding back tears.

She went up to him and gently placed her lips onto his. All the passion and emotions in the world that Raven had ever felt suddenly burst open like a flower in that moment. As they kissed, she felt all the life and light suddenly burst in her lips and in her heart. The fire inside her soul roared, emitting such strong heat and passion that she could barely feel anything else. The world around her melted, faded, and disappeared. For the first time in a long time, the only people in the world were her and Beast Boy. And they wouldn't ever break away again. Not even the tears that strolled down their cheeks and added a sour taste to their kiss could break them away. Perhaps this was the perfect symbol of what their love was. The love between Raven and Beast Boy had never been fully happy. There was always sadness and always separation. They were happy, yes, but there was always sadness as well. There was a passionate kiss but also tears—immense love, but also sadness.

Finally breaking away, Raven whispered into his ear, "Let's turn away from each other and walk away. And don't look back. I don't want your last memory of me to be my back."

Forging a smile, Beast Boy nodded and counted, "1…"

"2…" the girl said.

"3," they said simultaneously, closing their eyes and turning around. And then they walked away from each other, slowly and painfully.

Beast Boy desperately fought the urge to turn around, but knew that he couldn't. He felt like there was still something missing, like there was one more thing he needed to say or needed to do. But it was too late now. It was time they'd said goodbye.

Suddenly, Beast Boy felt a pair of arms wrap around him and felt a woman's head resting on his shoulder. Placing his hands on hers, he whispered with tears, "R—Raven."

"Beast Boy…" she said through tears.

"You said we wouldn't turn around," he whimpered as tears strolled down like a waterfall. "You said you didn't want your last memory of me to be my back."

Raven sobbed and said to him, "I'm closing my eyes."

How long they hugged, they didn't know, for every second felt like a year for them. And in many ways, this last hug—this last embrace—was better than any kiss would've been. A kiss is just a touch on the lips, but a hug was holding each other in the arms. A kiss was sensual and beautiful, but there are times when a hug is a much better show of pure love than a kiss will ever be.

"Beast Boy," said she. "I love you. Never forget that."

"You already know I won't," said he. "I'll never forget."

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	10. The Azarath Mission x Past

_**Secret Report 10**_

_And finally the Taboo… They were created by the Composer through the Imagination of humans. Ten were created in all. In order to keep them somewhat separate from him to prevent another uprising like that of the Demons' to occur, the Composer then decided to create for them a leader who would act as his representative. And so he took the Souls of the humans that have died during the Sorcerer-Demon War and used them to create a man called the Conductor. Because he was created directly from the Souls of humans rather than their Imagination, the Conductor was essentially Earthly himself, as well as Ethereal. Also because of this, he feels inside him a deep attachment or connection to the World—a sense of euphoria that the Taboo do not feel. Out of all the Taboo and even all the Ethereal beings, it is the Conductor, himself, who feels the most love for the World—for Azarath and Earth and all the worlds in existence. No doubt his love is very strong._

…

"What's it called?" Richard asked with a confused face. "Az-_ora_?"

"_Azarath_." Rayne rolled her eyes and continued, "It's a Rank A mission, so Interplan's dishing out their best agents."

"Cra-ap," the man whined. "Why do _I_ get picked for the Rank A missions? I told them I'm done doing field work."

"They told me your contract said you were to be placed on the field when needed," Rayne shrugged. "They said you were a really good marksman. Very capable with a gun." She reached inside her back while mentioning to him, "If it makes you feel any better, I managed to pull some strings to get you, Loc, and Kane as the leaders for the team."

That did the trick. His eyes widened and he immediately lit up upon hearing his former teammates' names. "Kane and Loc?" he cried in disbelief. "No way!"

"Way." The secretary pulled out a file labeled 'Case V1975—Azarath' and tossed it onto his desk. "Aren't I the best secretary ever?"

"Super best," he smiled. "Wow, us three haven't been on a mission together in years. This'll be great!"

"Don't let your little reunion get to you though," the woman warned him, "It's still a Rank A mission—meaning you'll have to be extremely careful and alert. The higher-ups say because they're sending out some of their best men, they want minimum casualties."

"Alright. Fill me in, then."

"Aren't you old enough to read by yourself?" she asked sarcastically.

"Wow, look at this woman," he shot back. "You share a few cups of coffees with me and you think you're my best friend all of a sudden? You're still my secretary, remember? Barely worked here for a month and already getting an attitude…"

Rayne playfully stuck her tongue out at him and snatched up the file, leafing through its contents and reading aloud, "It's about a planet called Azarath. It's a peaceful planet which is why we've never had send our police agents down there before. Lately there's been a few attacks by a local terrorist group calling themselves the 'Taboo'. Three minor incidents involving burning down a house or a farm or something, but a few days ago they managed to completely destroy an entire city."

"Hmm… give me some more info about the planet."

"Azarath. It's notable for being one of the oldest worlds to have existed. It's among one of the first documented worlds, actually. It's also notable for its advanced technology and government/social systems. Simply put, it's like the Roman Empire to us. Except it's still alive. The Azarathean civilization is most famous for its ability to conjure magical spells."

"Magic?" Richard's eyes perched up. "Now _there's_ something new."

"According to our researchers," she continued, "Many thousands of years ago there was a cataclysmic event called the Sorcerer-Demon War. The exact details are kept secret by the Azarathean government but what we _do_ know is that its people were given magical abilities. We know very little about exactly how it works but basically it's something that needs to be trained a lot to truly master."

"A magical civilization," the Interplan agent mused. "How come no Azaratheans are in Interplan?"

"It's basically a perfect civilization that achieved world piece a long time ago. What would they want to do with other worlds that aren't as developed as they are?" Rayne pointed out.

"That's true. So what about these 'Taboo' people?"

"The Azarathean government doesn't even know what these terrorists are or what their goal is," she explained. "They are said to have very powerful magical abilities rivaling or even superior to that of the most able sorcerers in Azarath. They want you to go down there and see what's up. Find out more about these Taboo people, uncover their motives, and—if necessary—destroy them." She handed him back the file and added, "The recon team's already been down there and gave a full report about Azarath's environment and social systems. It's all in that file. Also, Loc and Kane have already finished their missions and will be here within a week. During that time, I suggest you start reading those documents and begin training. It's been a while since you did something other than sit on that chair like a lazy bum."

Richard opened his mouth to throw her a comeback, but abruptly shut it upon realizing how right Rayne was. Glancing over and feeling his arms, he noticed how loose his muscles had become. Feeling his abdomen, he could feel a certain flabbiness starting to form around his abs. "I gotta hit the gym," he grumbled to himself. "Well what are you gonna do while I'm gone?" he asked her.

"Homework," she smiled. "I have enough money to start earning my degree in architecture now."

"Oh really? I pay you that much?" he raised his eyebrows. "Well it'll be no time before you've finished college and get a better job. And I can't lose my best secretary! I better start lowering your salary…"

"Do it and you'll be walking around Azarath with a black eye!" she hissed before flipping her hair aside and walking out the office.

**[Note: For those of you who remember, this is the first time the Taboo have attacked, as mentioned in Chapter 2 of **_**Memories in my Heart**_**.]**

…

"All units clear!" Richard yelled as Interplan agents ran here and there, gathering materials and doing last minute check-ups. "Kane, everything ready?"

"Roger!" the bulky man answered, giving him a saluting sign.

"Alrighty." Richard briskly walked towards the ship and called, "Beam me up, Loc!"

"Sure thing, Captain Kirk," Loc joked as he lowered the entrance platform for Richard to walk up. "What am I then? Spock?"

"Sulu," came the answer, prompting the Asian man to roll his eyes. "All units on board, pronto!"

"Yes, sir," the agents below shouted back as they boarded the ship.

"Gentlemen," Richard said to his two best friends, Loc and Kane, as they prepared to fly to Azarath, "This is gonna be one heck of a mission."

"We're gonna make it," Kane said. "We always do."

"Roger," Loc replied.

"Alrighty. I got my full faith in you two," Richard smiled as he placed his hands on their shoulders. "I'll buy you guys beers when we get back. And some coffee, too. I know a girl who makes the best coffee in the world."

And with Loc as pilot and Kane as Commander, Captain Richard Burke declared with a wide smile, "Let's mosey!"

…

Their missions to Azarath to find and defeat the Taboo lasted five months. The Interplan managed to gather much information about the Taboo—information that no one else knew. The Taboo became of Interplan's increasing threat and began to truly fear them and planned a counterattack to Interplan.

Richard and Rayne grew increasingly closer and closer. They soon dated and finally got engaged one day under a moon-filled sky. Every time he left to go to Azarath, she'd always be afraid he'd never make it back. But every time he left, he'd always tell her the same thing:

"Always look up at the night sky and find the North Star, Polaris. It's the star that shines the brightest out of all of them. Remember the night we got engaged? That star was shining so bright, I remember. In Azarath, the stars remain the same as here. So always look up at Polaris and know that I'm also looking up there, too. I love you, Rayne. I'll see you in a bit, I promise."

That was before Operation Erasure.

That was before the day he never came back.

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	11. Can't Do it Alone x Present

_**Secret Report 11**_

_I become more and more restless as I think about my actions. My betrayal of Joshua… and of Raven. In the time I had known Raven, I had grown quite fond of her. Tried as I might, I could not help but smile as I witness her growth as a person. She had grown from a secluded, cold-hearted introvert into the woman she is now. Back when she was a teenager, Raven had shut others out, believing it was the only way to save them from her father, Trigon. Though she was surrounded by friends, she was truly lonely. In many ways, she was just like Joshua._

_Humans seem fond of the idea of individualism, independence, and self-ness. Raven, though she viewed it as protecting others, also had that same mentality. She believed only she could carry her burden—no one else. In time, she began to learn the importance of others. In the end, it was through others that she managed to defeat Trigon. Time passed, and it was also through others that she learned to defeat Paen as well. Now the only thing left is the Taboo. The Conductor._

_Then the Composer…_

…

Beast Boy walked around the streets of New York City, reminiscing on his time here. He remembered when the Titans had first come to New York upon the invitation of the Young Superheroes' Academy. He remembered the car accident. He remembered returning years later under the identity Jeremy Rousseau. He remembered yet another car accident.

He shook his head, wondering why he couldn't go anywhere without nearly dying. He then thought of the Titans. Robin and Starfire were busy juggling crime-fighting and raising a screaming alien baby. Cyborg and Terra were busy juggling crime-fighting and finding a romantic interest. And Raven… well, she was busy juggling Taboo-fighting and staying alive.

He shook his head again and sighed. How desperately he wanted to go talk to someone. He wanted to enlist the other Titans' help with Raven, but he knew he couldn't. Since the very beginning, Raven insisted that the others not know of their mission against the Taboo. She asserted to him that the Taboo were directly related to her and no one else, and therefore no one else should risk their lives for her business. With that in mind, when she had formally begun chasing after the Composer, she had told the other three Titans that she and Beast Boy had to temporarily stay in Azarath to help rebuild. None of them had the slightest idea she was about to die in a few days unless she defeats the Composer in time. And she wanted to keep it that way.

Beast Boy kicked a nearby garbage can in frustration. How could Raven just shut out everyone again? Hadn't she learned by now that she needs other people to help her? Many times he had tried to go back to Polaris, but was not allowed in per Raven's orders to the other agents. He wasn't even allowed to hear her voice or speak to her.

It's been five days since they had broken up. She only has two more days left until her timer ends. After that, she dies.

"No," Beast Boy said to himself. "Don't even think about Raven dying. Don't even think about it!" He continued walking and tried to get his mind off things by humming and biting his nails. As he walked, a little restaurant caught his eye—a small diner named _Allesandro's_. Stopping for a moment, he remembered that there was a restaurant in France named _Allesandro's_ which his mother had loved very much. He suddenly remembered his mother and began thinking about her.

His mother—Sarah Prynne—was a kind and gentle woman who had good intentions. Abandoning him at birth and changing her name because his father had passed away and she had no money to support him, she reunited with him through the Young Superheroes' Academy. After his car accident, she took him to the hospital and had him hypnotized and transferred to France, making him believe he had lived all his life there with her. While her methods were questionable at best, Beast Boy couldn't deny she had done it out of the goodness of her heart. She wanted to make up for the 18 years she had lost as his mother and saw this as the only way.

And now that he thought about it, he hadn't spoken to her in a year. Something inside him urged him to go speak with her again, at least one last time. After all, this was the woman who had raised him for ten years in France. She deserved to see her son at least one last time.

…

Sarah Prynne trudged towards the door upon hearing a few knocks. As she opened it, she saw a young man staring back at her with a small smile.

"Garfield?" she gasped, her gloomy eyes instantly lighting up. "Oh! Oh it's so good to see you! Oh—I uh… I—um…"

He smiled and waved a bag of to-go from _Allesandro's_. "It's your favorite, isn't it?"

"Oh my God," she said, resting her hands on her heart. "Oh, you remembered. I can't believe you remembered."

"How could I forget my own mother's favorite restaurant?" he said as he walked into his old apartment, which he had given to his mother before he moved to Azarath.

"Well I haven't been a very good mother, have I?" she drooped her head once more.

"I came here to see your pretty little face, Mom. Don't give me that ugly thing!"

"You're as sarcastic as ever, Garfield Logan. Here, sit down at the table and let's eat."

As Beast Boy prepared the food, he occasionally glanced at his mother and examined her. She was as beautiful as always, but he noticed she seemed skinnier than last year and wondered if she had been eating well. Her baggy, dark eyes suggested little or restless sleep and her once angelic face and hair started showing signs of wrinkles and grayness.

"Was there any particular reason you're visiting, Gar?"

"Not really. Just wanted to visit you, that's all. Here, eat."

She thanked him and began eating the delicious food.

"Well actually," her son interjected. "There was one thing I was always a bit curious about."

"What is it?"

Staring deeply into his mother's gazing eyes, he asked her politely but firmly. "Tell me about my father."

"Y—your father?" She seemed taken aback by the request.

"Yeah. I'd like to know a little bit about my dad."

Sarah's eyes started to dart back and forth as she struggled on what to say. Finally she seemed to settle on something and explained to him, "Your dad… was a very remarkable man. He was brave, strong, and fearless. He only knew how to help others… never even thought about helping himself. We had a little rough start at first, but soon we became close. Funny story, we actually started liking each other because of a single cup of coffee. Anyway, you should remember the rest of the story. He died in a plane explosion shortly before our wedding. Then you were born and…" Her voice trailed off. Beast Boy didn't have to ask what happened next. He had lived what happened next.

"I'm sorry I left you," she said finally. "But I just couldn't raise you. Not by myself. And it's not because of money, either. After all, how could I raise a little boy when the man I loved had died? When he's gone forever? If we were extremely poor but he was still alive, we would have kept you and raised you. But he's not… he's dead. I just couldn't raise you. I can't do it by myself."

"I understand…"

"There's just some things you can't do by yourself," she mumbled, shaking her head. "No matter how much you try, no matter how many times you push others away… sometimes you just can't do it by yourself."

"Can't…do it by yourself…" he echoed. "No, Raven… you can't do it by yourself. You can't!"

Suddenly jumping out of his seat, he said, "I'm sorry Mom. I have to go now. It's very urgent."

She nodded understandingly and waved him goodbye with a smile. "Thank you for visiting. You have no idea how much it means to me."

Beast Boy kissed his mother then ran out the door. He knew what he had to do. Fumbling with his phone, he sent Cyborg a text message: "Get the T-Ship ready ASAP. I need to contact every single Titan and ally in the world in under two days. Also, look in Raven's room and find the box with her magical artifacts. Look for a bunch of pendants with skulls on them and give them to the other Titans. We have a world to save."

…

Two Days Later

…

Raven sat on the cliffside, reliving her old memories. It was this very cliff that she had gone to meditate as a teenager. It was on this very cliff that Beast Boy had asked her out and she accepted a week later. It was on this very cliff that she had reunited with Beast Boy after defeating Paen. It was also on this very cliff that she was shot by Seymour. There were so many memories all in this one spot. It seemed perfect that she'd die here.

She had done all she could, but it seems that there is nothing else to be done. Looking down onto her right hand, she gazed at the timer which showed a little less than five minutes left. She was going to die now. She'll die with Beast Boy on her mind.

She closed her eyes and imagined Beast Boy before here.

"Raven!" a voice called.

"Beast Boy…" she whispered. "Can you hear me?"

"Raven!" the voice called again.

"It's almost as if you're here…"

"Raven!" the voice shouted one last time. Raven continued ignoring it until she heard a clear, sharp whistle. Opening her eyes, she turned around to see Beast Boy stand before her with two of his fingers in his mouth. Taking in a deep breath, he blew and whistled at her once more before saying with a smile, "I'm here, Rae. Here I am."

"Beast Boy," she said, shaking her head. "How did you find me?"

"Where else would you be?" he asked cheekily. "I brought company."

Raven looked past him and saw with bewilderment not only Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, and Terra, but every other Titan and ally that she had met in her life. There they were, hundreds of superheroes all staring and smiling at her—from Jinx to Kid Flash, from Mas and Menos to Argent, from Wonder Girl to Speedy, among many others.

"You see, Rae?" Beast Boy said with a smile. "You can't do this by yourself. We're all here to help you."

Raven was moved to tears by the show of friends, but cautiously backed away and said to him, "It's too late… I only have one minute left to live… Beast Boy…"

Beast Boy ran up to her and grabbed her cheeks, bringing her lips to his and kissing her passionately. Breaking them apart, he whispered to her, "Don't you say that, Raven. We've made it this far. You are NOT going to die now."

With tears emerging from his eyes, he grabbed her right hand with his left and intertwined their fingers together. "We will go together. We are in this together, got it?"

Tearfully, Raven nodded.

"Whatever happens from now on, it won't matter," he said, choking on his own salty tears. "Because as long as we're together, nothing can break us apart. As long as I have you and you have me, I'm happy."

Ten seconds remaining.

"I love you, Raven."

"I love you too, Beast Boy."

Five seconds remaining.

"The future doesn't scare me at all!" Beast Boy shouted.

Three seconds.

"I'm sorry!" Raven cried.

Two.

"I love you. Always!"

One.

Zero.

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	12. Operation Erasure x Past

_**Secret Report 12**_

_Joshua had been Raven's partner for the majority of her chase after the Composer. There are several reasons behind his choice of actions:_

_1. to ascertain the Conductor's strategy._

_2. to educate Raven—the proxy._

_3. to protect the proxy._

_However, there are some risks in him doing so. The first is that his presence causes a great deal of psychological strain on the proxy. I have noted times when she had Scanned him through her pendant and relived the day she died. (Note that I had stated Raven "died." While she is still living, she is living in her Ethereal state. Her Earthly body had completely given in to the bullet) Another risk lies in the possibly of him being caught by Seymour. That would result in not only Raven's memories of her death being returned to her, but also in Joshua's defeat as well._

_Of course… all that had already happened. Because of me. Joshua was a good man, if not a little mislead. But I had to stop him. How many times can I say I'm sorry before I can forgive myself?_

…

Four Days Before Operation Erasure

…

"How's your dress?" Richard's voice emanated from the phone.

"It's absolutely beautiful," Rayne replied.

"Can I come see it anytime soon?"

"Of course not! The groom never gets to see the bride before the wedding!"

"That's only on the wedding day, Rayne."

"Still, you don't get to see the dress, okay?"

"Ugh, fine. Can't believe I'm marrying you…"

"Shut up, Richie Rich," she stuck her tongue out as if he could see it through the cell phone. "How's everything going with Interplan?"

"It's good. I talked with the higher-ups and I only have to work five more days before they let me resign from the Azarath Case. After that, I'm all yours."

"Great! Only five more days. Be careful, alright? I don't want to marry a man with an eye patch or a huge scar across his face."

"Don't worry, I'll do my best to stay handsome. As if I have to try. How's the invitations going?"

"The ones to my college friends are ready. I'll hand them out when I go to school tomorrow. And I've already sent all the ones to Interplan agents."

"Great job, boss."

"Hey, I'm your secretary, aren't I? I'll talk to you later. I'm about to meet with the flower decorations people."

"Okay. Love you, honey. Remember tonight to look up—"

"—look up at the Polaris star," Rayne chuckled. "I got it."

"I'll see you in five days," Richard said. Rayne could tell he was smiling as he ended the call.

…

Two Days Before Operation Erasure

…

"We've got it!" the lead professor in the Interplan Science and Magic Department cried out as he stormed into the meeting. "We've got it!" All the agents sitting around the table, with Richard Burke on the end, peered up with curious eyes.

"Got what now?" Richard asked unceremoniously.

"The ultimate Anti-Taboo weapon!" the professor cried hysterically. Murmurs from the other agents immediately rose up before Richard asked the professor to explain.

"It's this!" The aged professor took from his pocket a pendant of black circular glass with a design of a scarlet skull etched on it.

"A necklace…?" Loc muttered skeptically.

"No, not just a necklace. A pendant!" The professor's widening eyes caused Loc to shiver. "You see, we have discovered that the source of the Taboo's power comes from the insignia on the back of their jackets. We've discovered a way to precisely mimic the design onto these pendants. We've created a weapon that copies the power of the Taboo! Fight fire with fire!"

An agent with red, spiked hair by the name of John Locke rose up and questioned the professor, "How did you obtain such information? And how can you be sure that your idea is right?"

"Our agents have keen observational skills and our technology has been able to locate the source of the Taboo's power through this insignia. And as for your second question, we've tested it numerous times with no side effects."

"How did you manage to copy the insignia so perfectly?" a bald, muscular agent named Thomas Hobbes said.

"Hahaha, our technology is decades ahead of our time, agent. You should know that by now. That is the wonder that is Interplan. We've had interplanetary space travel for years while the public is barely inventing the cell phone. We've had cloning and teleportation when the common folk are still using typewriters!"

"I see…" Agent Locke muttered before sitting down. "Then that means the Taboo have something to worry about then."

"You betcha!" the professor ecstatically remarked.

After the meeting, Agent Hobbes joined Agent Locke for a cup of coffee.

"So how'd you think of that meeting, Locke? That pendant sure looks dangerous."

"You can relax now. No one else is around."

"Alright then," Hobbes nodded. "What do you think then, Don?"

"Not sure what to think, Yang. This pendant of theirs could prove quite dangerous to us."

"I still can't imagine how they managed to mimic our insignia. They're only humans! Mere Earthly creatures! They're not even Azaratheans. How did they do it?"

"I suspect they had much help from the Azaratheans as well. The Composer needs to know about this. I'll contact the Conductor soon."

"Okay. And have you heard about our impending 'defeat'?"

"The Conductor's said we've got what we were searching for. Now it's time to leave the World and go back to the Realm for a couple years."

"A grand exit," Yang chuckled. "How are we going to go about it?"

"The Conductor's said something about speaking with High Lady Azar during our final attack on Sector 1 in Azarath. He's going to act as the Composer's mouthpiece and give the Lady his message."

"Which is?"

"The Conductor refuses to tell me much. I know it's something about the future. You see, both High Lady Azar and the Composer have some amount of clairvoyance. From what the Conductor has told me, there is to be some kind of apocalyptic event in the future. One that threatens the entire World."

"I see… and the Composer wishes some kind of agreement with Azar?"

"It seems like it. However, there's something else that disturbs me as well. The Conductor mentioned something about a proxy."

"A… proxy?"

"Yes. Apparently whether or not the World survives will depend on this proxy. And I'm getting a real bad vibe about her."

"It's a her? What's so special about 'her'?"

"She is yet to be born, according to the Composer. But what I do know is that she is the daughter of Trigon."

"Trigon! The ruler of the Demons?" Yang gasped.

"Yeah. Talk about trouble, huh?"

"I see. You inform the Conductor and I'll see what I can learn about the pendant."

…

One Day Before Operation Erasure

…

The Taboo sit up straight around their gathering table as the Conductor walks in. As he takes his seat at the end of the table, the other Taboo give him a nod of respect and wait for him to speak.

"I have spoken with the Composer," Sanae the Conductor breathed. "He is aware that Interplan has obtained the secrets behind our insignia and power. He orders us to execute Operation Erasure."

A few of the Taboo nod understandingly. Don muttered under his breath, "OE? Not again…"  
"It seems that Interplan is becoming too much of a nuisance to handle. The Composer believes it best to wipe it out completely," the Conductor continued.

"And what do we do about Azarath?" a female Taboo named Monica inquired.

"After Operation Erasure, we'll launch one final attack on Sector 1. After I speak with Azar, we'll disappear seemingly forever."

"When will we come back?" another Taboo asked him.

"Maybe about eighteen or nineteen years in the future?"

"That short?"

"Time does not exist in the Realm," the Conductor noted. "You all my rest as little or as long as you want. And besides, the last time we went to the World was several thousand years ago." He paused for a moment then concluded, "Be well prepared to infiltrate all Interplan bases tomorrow. Wait for the signal, then strike."

…

Operation Erasure

…

"All units onboard!" Kane shouted as he entered the plane, himself. He swiftly made his way towards the captain's deck and met with Loc and Richard, who were discussing battle tactics.

"Okay, we will fly to the Rome base and meet up with the other planes," Richard said to them. "After teleporting to Azarath, we'll barrage the Taboo with our new powers. Half of us will stay on the plane and shoot from above, half of us will go down and fight on the land."

"What if someone on the plane accidentally shoots one of our own?" Loc pointed out.

"That is why we'll only let those with the best precision stay on the planes and man the guns. 'Best precision' means you, Loc."

"Sure thing, boss," the sharpshooting Asian replied as he took his place as pilot and prepared for takeoff.

"Everyone hear that?" Richard said to the other agents.

"Yes sir!" they replied.

"Sir, yes sir," Agent John Locke smiled.

The jet took off immediately and flew at full speed towards the Interplan's base in Rome.

"By the way, Richard," Kane said casually as he munched on a banana. "Can I bring along a date to your wedding? I met this girl a couple weeks back and we're starting to warm up."

"Sure thing, Kane," the young man replied, his eyes immediately brightening up at the thought of his future wedding. "What about you, Loc? Any girl you got in mind?"

"Not interested," the pilot shot back with a smirk.

"Okay fine. Any _guy_ you got in mind?" Loc rolled his eyes in response while muttering something in his language under his breath.

John Locke, meanwhile, glanced out the window and saw that the plane was starting to pass over the Atlantic Ocean. Telepathically communicating with the other Taboo, he reported, "Don here. My station is ready to die."

"Monica here," he heard a female voice echo in his mind. "Same."

"Yang, positive."

The other Taboo proceeded to do so as well, until every last one of them checked out. Within a few minutes, all the Taboo heard the distinctive voice of their Conductor. "The word of the Composer: It is time. Execute Operation Erasure."

"Roger that." Don's Interplan uniform suddenly melted and evaporated, revealing a black jacket, black pants, and black boots underneath. Ignoring the gasps of shock from the agents around him, the Taboo casually put on his hood with a wide grin and immediately threw a fireball at the plane's wall. Screams and shouts followed as some of the agents quickly got their weapons and started firing at the Taboo while some of the less fortunate agents were writhing on the floor in pain as they caught on fire. Don Scanned the agents instantly and read their minds, foreseeing their actions and deftly dodging their attacks.

Kane, whom Don had not Scanned and therefore was not aware of, swiftly attacked the Taboo from behind, knocking him down for a few precious seconds. The hefty man took advantage of the time his target needed to recuperate and immediately pulled a machine gun specialized for fighting Taboo and fired at the man. To his dismay, Kane fired at empty space, as Don had already teleported away. The man in the black jacket reappeared behind him and launched a flare of fire at the man's back.

As Kane lie screaming in pain from his severely burned back, he saw Don begin to walk towards the captain's deck. Looking around and realizing everyone else was dead, Kane mustered up all his strength and ran towards the attacker, tackling him from behind. Throwing Don on the floor, Kane stood before the door and shouted to Loc and Richard, "Get out of here now!"

Richard and Loc, having heard the shouts and realizing they and Kane were the only ones alive, had already been preparing parachutes. "We're not leaving without you!" Richard shouted.

The last thing he heard before Loc opened the plane's door and pushed Richard off was Kane's agonizing screams as Don burned him alive and a faint growl that sounded like a "GO NOW!"

Together, Richard and Loc, both sharing one parachute, fell towards the wide, endless ocean as the plane they jumped from exploded. As they descended to less than a hundred feet above the water, the parachute suddenly burst into flames. The two fell into the sea headfirst.

Loc was the first one to notice the Taboo hovering in the air above the waters with a grin like the devil's. As he saw a fireball seemingly the size of the sun being hurled towards them, he pushed Richard underwater and shielded him with his own body.

Richard realized what was happening and stayed under water in fear of being discovered by the Taboo. In what seemed like hours, he watched in horror as the glimmer of life disappeared from Loc's eyes. When Richard couldn't hold his breath any longer, he crossed his fingers and bobbed his head above the water. Thankfully, Don had left, assuming he was already dead. Fighting back tears and wondering how this had all gone so wrong, Richard noticed the body of Kane floating close by. The man's face was a horrible charcoal color.

Too shocked and tired to think or do anything other than breathe and swim, Richard brought the hands of his two dead best friends together. Giving them one final salute, he pushed their bodies away and watched as they floated together. Richard gathered all his remaining energy and swam towards a large piece of metal from the plane and slowly paddled his way towards the United States shore, which was in the distance a few miles away.

He was too exhausted to do anything other than paddle. He didn't speak. He didn't think. All he did was swim and breathe in utter unison.

…

Don had destroyed the plane containing the leaders of the Azarath case.

Monica massacred everyone in the Rome base and permanently deleted and destroyed all traces of files in the Interplan database.

Yang killed all those in the Washington DC base and cast a powerful spell the erased all memories of Interplan from the United States government.

Every single Interplan agent and base was destroyed by the Taboo, one by one, until no one remained.

Richard survived the incident, and snuck into the United States under several false aliases. After recovering for a year and piecing together what had happened, he made his way towards his home. He broke into his house and stole his laptop, in which there was an emergency hard drive that contained all the information from Interplan's database. Realizing that he and his laptop were all that remained of Interplan and that the Taboo were still a great menace, Richard Burke knew he had to defeat the Taboo. He slowly formed a new government organization, naming it Polaris after the star which he'd look up at every night, thinking of Rayne. As the years progressed, Polaris became a powerful organization that was on the outside an interplanetary peacekeeping organization similar to Interplan, but in reality was an Anti-Taboo organization, training agents until the time came for them to fight the Taboo.

Although he never stopped thinking about her, Richard never saw Rayne ever again. He felt that as long as the Taboo still existed, she would be in danger if he ever made contact with her. He felt that since they were not even married yet, Rayne had a chance of finding someone else and having a good life.

What he did not know was that on the day of Operation Erasure, the day he disappeared and supposedly died, Rayne had been crying tears of joy as she held in her hand a positive pregnancy test.

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	13. Via Purifico x Present

_**Secret Report 13**_

_Ever since the Taboo first arrived at Azarath thirty years ago, their one sole enemy had been Interplan._

_Interplan was an organization that had lasted for centuries. Originally a division of the Knights Templar, Interplan had grown throughout the centuries as a worldwide peacekeeping organization. It was a very secretive organization, however, and had contributed to many famous actions in a "behind the scenes" fashion. Over the years and under many names, it was Interplan that that helped form many alliances like the European Union, the League of Nations, and the United Nations, supported many leaders like Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr., and assisted in many scientific discoveries and breakthroughs. Interplan was always technologically advanced compared to the rest of Earth, but was wise enough to keep its inventions a secret in fear of them being misused._

_It was around the late 19__th__ and early 20__th__ century that Interplan transcended from a worldwide peacekeeping organization to an interplanetary one. Forming alliances with many other peacekeeping organizations in other worlds, they eventually formed one massive organization called the Interplanetary Peace-keeping Police. As the Interplan slowly became more and more occupied with other planets, Earth began to suffer because of it, leading to two World Wars._

_Once Earth's Interplan was destroyed by Operation Erasure, a lone surviving agent named Richard Burke would eventually set out to rebuild Interplan under a new name—Polaris. He quickly rebuilt the empire of an organization that was Interplan and contacted Interplan's bases in other planets, convincing them to change their names to Polaris as well. He reasoned with the other planets' leaders that the Taboo were still a danger, and would readily attack any planet that had an 'Interplan' label on it. Under the guise of an interplanetary paranormal investigation company, Polaris stood undetected by the Taboo. It wasn't until a few years ago that the Composer became aware of Polaris and its history as Interplan._

_The Taboo have always had a unique fear for Interplan/Polaris, as it was the first organization that was a serious threat to them. And now, it seems, Polaris agent Raven Roth may have what it takes to defeat the Taboo forever._

_That is why I must place my personal feelings aside and stop her at all costs. _

…

Beast Boy held a limp Raven in his arms, fighting back the tears that were brimming in his eyes. He felt his heart beat faster and faster in horrible anticipation as the world around him slowed down and silenced. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead as he whispered again and again, "Raven… Raven…"

The man nearly jumped as he felt her hand flinch for a split second. Slowly but surely, her relaxed fingers—still intertwined with his—began to tense up while her arm moved slightly. Her chest bobbed up and down as she breathed and eventually her eyes opened. "Beast Boy…" she gasped.

"Raven!" the changeling shouted in joy, feeling the blood rush back into his face once more. "You're alive!" He hugged her tightly within his arms.

"I'm—I'm alive…?" Letting go of his hand, Raven raised up her right palm and saw that it was clear and normal. The timer was gone. "Oh my God…" she gasped. "Oh my God… Oh my God, oh my God! Oh God!" Hugging Beast Boy tightly, she whispered in joy, "Oh God, I'm alive. I'm alive."

"Yeah," he said, barely able to hold back tears. "You are, Rae. You're alive." Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, and Terra, who had been watching by, quickly came in and joined the hug.

"But—but how?" Raven wondered aloud after the others finished hugging their embrace. "I mean I saw the timer. I felt it count to zero. How did I survive?"

"Maybe someone saved you?" Beast Boy proposed. "Like last year when the Composer suddenly saved us."

"No, I really did _feel_ it hit zero. And the Composer turned out to be the real bad guy all along. I'd rather not prefer another mysterious ally comes along and turns out to be the Composer's boss or something."

"Wait a sec," Beast Boy recalled, furrowing his eyebrows. "You know what I never realized? Who said that timer was going to kill you?" Raven opened her mouth as if to respond, but slowly closed it as she realized she could not find an answer. "That's right," Beast Boy continued. "No one did. We never really knew what that timer did, right?"

"That's true… But what, didn't Soel or Joshua say anything about my timer?"

"No, Joshua never spoke about it. All he talked about was how he was going to defeat the Composer. And Soel…"

"I think Soel _did_ say something. Not anything big but during the past year whenever we visited him at his restaurant, Heaven, he'd always mention something that implied that timer would kill me wouldn't he?"

"Yeah, that's right. I remember now. Like about three months ago, didn't he mention something like 'That timer will be the end of you, Rae.'"

"Yeah," Raven said. "And I remember once he said he hoped I'd get rid of that timer soon because he's known magical timers that mark one's death."

"Yeah I remember that. But he must have known he was wrong. Why would he trip us up and mess us up like that?" Beast Boy wondered. "He has no reason to purposefully give us false info and slow us down."

"But that what _was_ that timer for?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up!" Cyborg's titanic voice cried. "I am so lost right now. The freak is goin' on here?"

"Friends Raven and Beast Boy," Starfire said. "I agree with Friend Cyborg. Please explain all that you are saying."

"In case you two have forgotten," Robin commented. "You kind of left us in the dark about everything since you two moved to Azarath. What's going on?"

Raven stammered for a moment, unsure of whether or not she should tell the others, but upon looking at Beast Boy, who mouthed to her _You can't do it alone, Rae,_ she decided it was best that they knew.

"Okay guys it's a bit of a long story so I'll sum it up as best as I can. Remember the whole Taboo incident last year? The guys that invaded Azarath? Turns out their goal wasn't related to Azarath at all. They just took over Azarath to attract my attention. Their goal is me—draining my energy to power something they call 'Via Purifico' and killing me when the time comes because I'm they're biggest threat. We still have no idea what Via Purifico is but we know it's bad news. The Taboo are extremely powerful, probably even more than me, and can only be fought when we wear those pendants that you guys are wearing right now. Those pendants enhance our powers and put us on the same level as the Taboo. The Taboo are led by this man they call the Conductor. In turn, their grand leader and creator is another man called the Composer. The Composer is the mastermind behind everything and he's the guy we have to find and defeat. Another thing is that the company I worked for—Polaris—turns out to be this organization specially created by its President to fight the Taboo. I still don't know the exact details about it all but I do know they have powerful weapons and a good amount of agents ready to help us. Also, I've never told you guys because I didn't want you to get involved and place yourselves in unnecessary risk. There was a prophecy that the leader of Azarath—High Lady Azar—wrote before her death. Basically it said that I had the power to defeat the Taboo would this thing called ROSE, which Beast Boy and I have slowly found the key to. However, it also said I would defeat them at the cost of something most precious to me. And that could be any or all of you. That's why I kept you guys out of it. But now I understand I need you guys. For the past year, I've had this magical timer on my hand left by the Composer. A few minutes ago, the timer reached zero. We've assumed that timer marked my death, but apparently we were wrong. So the question is… what did that timer do?" Turning to Beast Boy, she asked him, "What exactly happened when the timer hit zero and disappeared?"

He thought for a moment. "You seemed to pass out for a few seconds. I thought you were dead. I remember there seemed to be a rush of energy for a split second. That's… all I can say."

"So what happens now?" Robin asked them. "If that's all that you know, then we have no leads. We have no idea who or where the Composer is. All we have is—you said you had a key?—to something called ROSE, which has the power to help you defeat him. Is that correct?" Raven nodded.

"Uh… guys?" Terra spoke up. "You might wanna see this…" she said, pointing at the crowd of Titans that had Beast Boy had gathered. The five turned around and looked at them. Raven had forgotten the other hundred Titans and wondered how she could have forgotten them so quickly when she had just seen them moments ago. The answer came to her when she saw they were all standing perfectly still and were silent. Strangely still and eerily silent… In fact, not a single one of them were moving. Slowly, the six original Titans walked up towards the unmoving Titans and examined the closely. Raven saw they were breathing and blinking as normal; they were not frozen or anything—just standing perfectly still.

"What's going on?" Beast Boy wondered.

"Why is nobody moving?" Starfire asked.

"Yo!" Cyborg called. "Can you guys hear me?"

Cautiously, Robin pushed Aqualad gently. The man in blue placed his foot backwards to regain his balance and immediately went back to his original position. "Strange…" Robin muttered.

"Rae," Beast Boy suggested. "Scan them. Use your pendant and read their minds."

"Good idea." Raven closed her eyes and meditated, concentrating both on her powers and on her pendant. She focused her soul-self above the Titans and Scanned them. Normally when she Scanned a group of people, Raven would receive a wave of voices, like listening to ten different people speaking at the exact same time. When she Scanned the seemingly paralyzed Titans now, however, what she heard was completely different and scared her even more.

She heard not a mass wave of thoughts, but one single thought that each and every person repeated over and over again in perfect unison: "To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be..."

Over and over again the Titans repeated that phrase in their thoughts, from Bumblebee to Speedy, from Mas y Menos to Jinx, from Kid Flash to Argent. All those there besides Beast Boy, Cyborg, Terra, Robin, and Starfire were repeating the exact same phrase in their minds in perfect synchronization.

"To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be...

"To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be...

"To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be..."

"What is this?" Raven said in horror. "They're—they're all…"

"What? What did you see?" said Starfire.

"They're—they're all possessed or something. They're all thinking the exact same thing—repeating the exact same phrase over and over again in their minds: 'To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be...' They're being mind-controlled or something."

"Is this," Beast Boy said with his mouth agape. "Is this Via Purifico?"

"Via Purifico—a mind-control spell? It very well might be. If that's the case, then my timer was probably a timer for Via Purifico."

"But why would the Composer let us know exactly one Via Purifico would start?" Robin interjected. "It makes no sense."

"That phrase, though. It sounds really familiar doesn't it, Rae?" Beast Boy pondered. "Where have we heard it before?"

The blood drained from the Azarathian's already pale face as she realized where she had heard the phrase before. "Polaris! It was the vow that we took when we were initiated into the Paragon division!"

"That's right!" the changeling recalled. "And it was engraved around the Polaris logo behind his desk in the President's mansion, wasn't it?"

"But—that means… the President is the Composer? _He's_ the one behind all this? No… he can't be."

"Only one way to find out. We have to get to his private island fast." Beast Boy beckoned Raven to open a portal. She did so hesitantly and followed the other five Titans inside wondering how on Earth the President could be behind all this.

Miles away in New York City, the two Taboo Don and Monica stood on one of the tall skyscrapers, looking down at the people below, who were all also standing motionless.

"Can you feel it, Monica?" Don said with a smile. "The mass of voices has died down so much."

"Yup. All that endless screech of billions and billions of thoughts has finally silenced into one smooth thought."

"The power of Via Purifico," Don chuckled. "The Conductor is pleased."

"Perhaps… the Composer would be as well?" Monica said wistfully but cautiously.

Don's face immediately turned grim as he replied. "I hope so, Mon. I really do."

…

A dark portal emerged in front of a large mansion located on a private, secret island. Stepping forth from the portal were three men and three women. The portal closed behind them just as the last woman emerged. Starfire and Terra both stared in awe at the stunning mansion surrounded by a lovely garden. "Follow me," Raven instructed them. "Be on the lookout, though. The President is supposed to be our ally but all that… all that could change at any time." Her voice trailed off as she led her friends inside.

The doors were thankfully unlocked—probably because anyone who knew the location of the President's secret home was most likely friendly—and Raven had no trouble making her way past the hallways towards the President's office. The others followed her while stealing some quick glances at the remarkable tapestry and gorgeously painted walls. When she finally came to the office door, she motioned the Titans to be silent and slowly knocked on the door three times. Beast Boy saw she was holding her breath and gently placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. She thanked him silently and—upon hearing no response from the office—creaked the door open.

The six entered the room and Raven turned towards the desk to find the President sitting on his desk peacefully. His eyes were open and he was breathing but was otherwise completely still, and Raven did not have to Scan him to know that he too was caught under the spell.

The sorceress unwittingly gave a sigh of relief. Though that meant she had no leads, at least she was able to rest easy knowing the President was not the Composer after all. However, if the President—the leader of Polaris and the one most feared by the Taboo—was caught under the spell, then surely everyone else in the world and possibly all worlds were under Via Purifico as well. How was it then that she, Beast Boy, and the others were unaffected?

"Well it looks like the President is caught by Via Purifico, too," Cyborg mumbled. "That rules him out as an enemy then."

"Well what now?" Robin said.

Raven struggled to remember any clues she might have forgotten, any words the Conductor or the Taboo may have said that would help her now. But still she could not think of anything. Suddenly, it hit her like a bullet in the wind—a conversation she and the President had shortly after Joshua's death:

_Raven noticed that on the wall behind the President was the Polaris insignia—a large stylized bird with a star for a head. Surrounding the bird was a strange quote:_

"_To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this world may be as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be."_

_The President seemed to notice her attention at the words and asked her, "Do you like that quote, Raven?"_

"_Oh?" she said. "No, it's just that… It sounds vaguely familiar. Have I heard that before?"_

"_It's the oath that you made when you first became a Paragon division Polaris soldier last year, remember?"_

"_Oh, that's right," she recalled._

"_It feels strange. What does it mean?" Beast Boy pondered aloud._

"_I'm not quite sure," the aged man admitted. "Soel mentioned those words to me once. Said it was some kind of ancient magical spell or something. I liked the ring in it and made it Polaris' motto. But of course, no one knows it except Paragon division agents."_

"No…" Raven gasped. "That can't be…"

"What?" Beast Boy said.

"No… No, no, no, no! That's impossible. No!"

"What, what is it, Rae?"

"Soel… It was Soel…" she whimpered almost hysterically. "Soel was the one who first told the President those words. He said it was some kind of magical spell. This spell… Via Purifico… came from Soel!"

"Could it—could it be? _Soel's_ the Composer?"

"No, it's impossible." She shook her head in denial. "Not Soel. It can't be. Not him! He—he gave us coffee all the time with such a warm smile. He—he helped us many times. He always gave us encouraging advice. He taught us how to be a team. If it weren't for him, we'd never have had these pendants and we'd never have the power to defeat the Conductor. It's not possible!"

"Raven… if you're right about Soel being the creator of Via Purifico… then there's a good chance he's the Composer."

"No, it doesn't make any sense! Remember that phrase he'd always say? 'Live every moment with all you've got.' Why would he say that yet create a spell to enslave everyone? 'Live each moment with all your might, whether it's gloomy, whether it's bright.' Why would he tell us that and yet be the one who tries to control everyone? He'd always talk about opening up to others and individuality. Why would he say all that and yet try to take away everyone's identities? Why would he seek to control the world? It makes no sense!"

"Raven!" Beast Boy shouted, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her gently. "I hate this just as much as you do but all I'm saying is that… maybe we need to pay him a little visit."

"F—fine," Raven stammered as she conjured up another portal to Azarath. "But I'm telling you it's impossible. Soel's not the—the Composer, I know it."

…

"Oh my God." Those were the first words the emerged from Beast Boy's lips as he stepped out of the portal and saw Soel's coffee shop. As Raven emerged from the portal, she too stared at the restaurant in utter horror. The entire building was destroyed—the glass windows broken, the door hanging loosely by a single hinge, rubble filled the inside of the restaurant while smoke emanated from the roof.

"What happened here?" was all Raven could say. "S—Soel…?"

"Well, well, well, it's about time you finally came," said an all too familiar voice. The Titans turned around to see a tall figure approaching them.

"Seymour!" Beast Boy said between gritted teeth. "You're still here?"

"Of course, lovily-dovily," the cold face of a man callously smiled. "Like I said, I'd seek my revenge on the Conductor, defeat the Composer, and take his place no matter what. I assume you're here looking for the Composer."

"You—you know?"

"Of course I know. I'm one step ahead of you miserable little people, as always." Pointing towards Soel's restaurant, Seymour continued, "You shouldn't bother looking in there, I've already tried. I know he hangs out there often but unfortunately he had already escaped when I came to 'visit' him."

"So… so you mean…" Raven said to him. "He really was the Composer?"

"Of course!" he chuckled. "I was wondering how long it'd take you to figure out that the person you were always with was the big bad guy after all. And I'd have to say I'm severely disappointed in you, Raven. To say that it took you this long. Tsk, tsk. Well I'd best be off. I'd destroy you but I have an appointment with Mr. Composer. I'll deal with you pests some other time."

"Wait!" Raven called as Seymour suddenly disappeared in a flash of light. Before Beast Boy could say anything to Raven, she immediately rushed inside the restaurant, calling Soel's name frantically.

Beast Boy chased after her, followed by the other Titans. "Raven!" he cried. "He's gone. Soel's gone!"

"No he's not, he's in here somewhere! Soel! Soel!"

"Raven!" he yelled, shaking her violently, trying to get her to come back to her senses. "Why are you like this? You're just like when Joshua…" he bit his lip and stopped himself from saying the word 'died'. "Look, you heard Seymour. From what we can tell… Soel may be the Composer after all… Now think. Is there anything you've seen in here that may help us?" Raven started to break down in tears, forcing Beast Boy to shake her some more. "Answer me, Rae," he said gently but firmly.

"The—the box," she realized.

"What box?"

"I remember… There was a box here. Inside a room. He told me never to speak of it when I accidentally found it. I—I think it was related to Via Purifico. I think it had the same words that everyone's repeating in their minds."

"Show me where the box is, Rae."

Composing herself, Raven nodded and proceeded across the room, carefully making her way through the rubble as the others followed. She found Soel's office with some difficulty but found that the door refused to open. She casually phased through the door and kept the portal open for the others to do the same.

Starfire took the courtesy to create a ball of energy, brightly illuminating the small room. "There it is." Raven pointed at a small safe-like golden box.

The door of the safe was divided into four squares containing the images of a winged man, a winged lion, a winged ox, and an eagle, each with a portion of the phrase that grew scarier and scarier every time Raven thought about it—"To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be..."

In the very middle of the safe, between the four squares containing the four images and the strange words, was a small lone keyhole. "A keyhole…" Raven muttered before reaching into her pocket and pulling out the key that they had forged from the pieces of ROSE. "Could this be it? Could ROSE be inside that box?"

"Open it," Beast Boy said softly.

"This could be our only chance," Robin added.

"Do it, Rae," Cyborg joined.

She nodded to them and, with a shaking hand, guided the key into the keyhole. Turning it slowly clockwise, she heard the small but distinctive sound of shifting gears before a final _click_ could be heard. Removing the key and placing in on the table, Raven held her breath and lifted open the box.

The first thing she saw was many papers with intricate handwriting on them. She placed them aside for now, instead trying to find something that would be immediately useful. She had hoped for a weapon of some kind—maybe even another, more powerful pendant or a spell. But all she found underneath the papers was a single piece of parchment, written in ancient Azarathian script:

"_THE PROPHECY OF ROSE_

_The One Who Conducts draws near, bringing with him his 'Way of Purifying'._

_The One Who Composes looms close, lying beneath the shadows with a Raven perched in his hand._

_And inside the Raven's beak is a ROSE she must find—as bright as the stars that will drive away the Ones Who Conduct and Compose._

_And with the sacrifice of the One she holds most dear, she will grant to the Composer his Wonderful World."_

"The Prophecy…" Raven whispered. "Is—is that it? This is ROSE?"

"No, it can't be," Beast Boy muttered. "That's it?"

"All this…" she said despondently. "We went through all this—we lost Joshua—all for a few pieces of papers and a prophecy we already knew? That's it? No weapon? No spell?"

"I can't believe this…" Terra grumbled. "Look at those papers, Rae. What do they say? Maybe it's something useful?"

Raven half-heartedly picked up the papers she had set aside and read the first page.

"_Secret Report 1_

_"Live every moment with all you've got."_

_These words carry such powerful meaning and yet are so easily misunderstood. That is the weakness of words, of human language. We can say and mean one thing, and yet others take it to mean something else entirely…_"

"…_My name is Soel, and due to recent events I find it necessary to keep these reports to help me and any future readers of these reports fully understand what exactly is going on at this moment. These reports will mostly be centered on:_

_Raven and the journey she will take as the chosen proxy_

_The Conductor, Sanae Kang, and his 'Via Purifico'_

_The complete truth behind the nature of the Taboo, the Conductor, and the Composer_…"

"…_Perhaps one day she will discover the truth of who I am and who she is, perhaps by reading these reports. But I sincerely hope that day will never arrive._"

"What is that?" Robin wondered.

"It's like… some kind of reports that Soel wrote apparently. "_Raven and the journey she will take as the chosen proxy_… What is that supposed to mean? _Perhaps one day she will discover the truth of who I am and who she is, perhaps by reading these reports. But I sincerely hope that day will never arrive_… The truth of who he is…"

She flipped to the next page and read a few lines:

"_Secret Report 2_

_Raven had almost died, but I had saved her. Though I must keep my identity a secret, I couldn't have let her die now. That would have ruined everything. And so I saved her life by transferring her body into its Ethereal form._"

"What do you mean your identity a secret? What identity could you mean, Soel? You can't be the Composer…"

"_Secret Report 6_

_Allow me to define the role of the Composer. He is the creator of the World and its ruler. He essentially writes the rules of reality and can rewrite it at his own will. He has limitless capabilities and has the ability to do whatever he pleases. But he has a conscience and a good will, which thus limits him on the basis of morals. He is immortal and extremely powerful but not invincible; he can be killed. A new Composer only arises when the previous one is defeated, which is very much possible, but also very much unlikely considering his immense power."_

"How do you know so much about all this? Could you be…"

"_Secret Report 8_

_My heart aches painfully. Joshua's plan… I cannot allow it to happen. For should his plan ever reach success… I might have to fight him, myself. He is indeed a very close friend of mine, but he knows not what he does. If he carries out his plan, he'd find me. And he'd have to fight me…_

_Raven… she's helping Joshua now. She's helping him defeat the Conductor…_

…_I've grown something of an attachment towards Raven, seeing her progress throughout the years. But if she helps Joshua, she too will have to die. I must stop Raven at all costs. I must stop her. I can't bring myself to kill either one of them with my own hands, so I'll have to stop them indirectly. Seymour remains my only choice. If I can help him become stronger, if I can make him powerful enough, hopefully he can stop Raven…_

…_I'm sorry, Raven. I'm sorry, Joshua. But I must stop you."_

Raven almost dropped the papers in shock. She read the paper over again as if she had read it wrong. "_But I must stop you_… No… Soel, it—it can't be. It just can't."

"_Secret Report 9_

_It is done. Seymour impaled Joshua through the chest with the spell I taught him. The spell was meant for Raven, but Joshua took it, saving her. That Joshua…_

_Raven survived, unfortunately somewhat to my disappointment, but she most likely won't make it far without Joshua. She may not have realized it yet, but he has been her most useful ally. It is doubtful she can face the Conductor without him…_

…_Raven…Joshua…Forgive me._

"Soel, this can't be you. It can't be."

"_Secret Report 12_

…_Of course… all that had already happened. Because of me. Joshua was a good man, if not a little mislead. But I had to stop him. How many times can I say I'm sorry before I can forgive myself?_"

"…You…You're…" She skipped to the very last page.

"_Secret Report 15_

_Via Purifico has begun. The entire World is now under complete control. I feel like I can rest easy now, knowing this has been a success._"

"…the Composer. You're… the Composer. Soel was the Composer all along, wasn't he?"

Raven dropped the papers onto the ground. She placed her hands on the table as if she was about to fall. Beast Boy could hear her panting heavily.

"Raven… You okay?"

"He killed him, Beast Boy." He heard. "Soel he… He _killed_ Joshua. He was the one behind all this. He killed Joshua, his own friend. And he tried to kill us, too. Tried to kill me. He's behind all this. Soel…"

"Raven…"

"He was our friend and he betrayed us. He betrayed Joshua and killed him. I'm… I'm going to find Soel. I'm going to find him and when I do… I'm gonna kill him!"

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	14. The Beginning of the End x Present

_**Secret Report 14**_

_Seymour had attacked my café, forcing me to flee. He's found out the identity of the Composer. No—he's known all this time; he's been waiting for the most opportune moment to strike. He's been waiting until he has enough power—that is, the power I had given him to fight Raven. The days go by very fast now and the hours seem like seconds in my mind. It seemed only yesterday that the idea of Via Purifico was first conceived. It is now eleven years later, and Via Purifico has already begun, taking the entire World in its grasp. It won't be long now until Raven fights the Conductor for the last time. But what will become of that battle? Should the Conductor fail to stop Raven… I might have to. I pray that the Conductor succeeds in stopping her._

…

It was at this time that the Titans split up, with Raven transporting Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, and Terra to Earth to find anyone unaffected by Via Purifico, Raven trying to find anyone unaffected in Azarath, and Beast Boy heading towards the Azarathian Castle in Sector 1 to retrieve the Crystal Sword, which they all agreed was the most valuable weapon they had.

As Beast Boy made his way through Sector 1, flying above the people underneath who were caught under the Taboo's spell, he remembered the first time he had come to Azarath, over ten years ago when Raven had accidentally brought him with her one night. He remembered how lost he had been and how the servant girl of a friend of Raven's had brought him to the Castle. He remembered how awe-struck he was when he had first seen the beautiful castle. The Castle was like home to him now as he had been living there for over a year.

Making his way inside and calling out to anyone who could possibly be unaffected by the spell, he flew up the stairs as fast as he could until he came to the Crystal Chamber. Reverting back to human form, he smiled as he stepped in front of the chamber was immediately frowned as he realized his utter mistake. There was no way to open it.

"Oh crap! I'm such an idiot!" he cried as he pounded his head against the door. "How am I gonna open it now?"

And just like that, Raphael's voice called from behind him. "Beast Boy? That you?" The changeling turned around in surprise as Raphael ran towards him. "You—you okay? You're not like the others are you?"

"No, I'm fine, Raph. How—how are you not affected?"

"I don't know, really. Haven't the faintest clue. I was just talking to Auntie Seraphina when all of a sudden there was a rush of energy like an earthquake. When it subsided, she didn't speak or move. I looked around and everyone was like that except for me."

"It's Via Purifico," Beast Boy explained. "The Composer's Via Purifico turns out to be a mind-control spell. He's got nearly everyone in all worlds under his command." The changeling's eyes suddenly brightened up. "Wait, you're a Father, right? Can you open this chamber?"

"The Crystal Chamber? Why?" he asked quizzically.

"We've found out the identity of the Composer. The Composer is… Soel."

"S—Soel? But how? He's one of us. He's been helping us the entire time! He saved our lives last year, remember?"

"I know and I'm just as shocked as you are. But from what info we've got, it all points to Soel."

"I see. And I assume we're gonna use the Crystal Sword again to fight the Composer?" Beast Boy nodded as Raphael stepped back, trying to remember the incantation that will open the door.

"God, I hate magic… I've never been good at this…" he muttered. "I remember when I was standing right where you are now and Father Don Quixote was standing where I am now. How I miss those times. Back when I was young."

"You're thirty now, Raph. You're much wiser and stronger than before. You can do this."

"Tibi Semper Audivit Lupus Clamor Ad Hyacintho Frumentum Luna

Aut Interrogavit Ridentem Hyaenae Quare Subridere

Potestis Omnes Voces Montes Laudabunt

Coloribus Pingere Potestis Omni Vento"

Raphael stepped back and opened his eyes, watching the chamber door creak and slide open, revealing a shining light. The two men stepped inside, with Beast Boy surprised to find that the chamber was fashioned like an ancient cave. It was completely empty, and was somewhat small. In the center of the room lie an altar of sorts, and floating in the air above the altar was a sword. The sword had a golden handle with various runes on it, and its blade was long and completely made of crystal. The light seemed to emit from the blade, itself.

"The Crystal Sword..." said Raphael as he and Beast Boy walked towards it. As the changeling reached out and grabbed it, he could feel its power surge through him. As he held it closer to him, the bright light dimmed and his eyes flashed for a second.

"It's been a while."

"Only when the worlds were in danger was that sword used," Raphael noted. "The first time was by Sorcerer Leon to defeat the Demons. The second time was by you to defeat Paen. And now by Raven to defeat the Taboo.

"To have the worlds come this close to destruction twice in our lifetimes," Beast Boy chuckled half-heartedly. "We're real _lucky_ people, huh?"

"We'll make it through this just like last time."

"We'll always make it. That's what heroes do…"

…

Raven sat in Soel's office, examining the reports and the prophecy vigorously. She had already traveled all across Azarath but to her dismay found no one unaffected by Via Purifico. She then traveled back to Soel's destroyed café to inspect the papers once more, hoping there was some clue she had overlooked. She thoroughly read throughout the fifteen page report and unfortunately found no clue that could help her find the whereabouts of the Composer.

"_Secret Report 14_

_Seymour had attacked my café, forcing me to flee._"

"But where did you flee, Soel? Where could you have gone?" She turned towards the parchment containing the prophecy and read it once more. She avoided reading the line that mentioned her losing the one she held most dear, as the thought of losing her friends or possibly losing Beast Boy frightened her. She flipped towards the back of the prophecy but found nothing but a drawing of a raven with a rose in its beak.

Sighing, she stroked her pendant, which suddenly gave her an idea. She activated the pendant and Scanned the prophecy, hoping to find some kind of hidden secret within the papers. Upon Scanning the prophecy, she saw a bright light shine from the parchment and began hearing some indistinct voices.

"_But sir… why?"_ Raven heard a voice say which she identified with some difficulty as the Conductor's.

"_I've decided to wash my hands of it, Sanae,"_ said another voice which was too fuzzy and indistinct for her to identify.

"_But sir, the World is full of so many opportunities."_

"_Yes, and people so full of themselves to act upon those opportunities."_

"_But—to erase the World? Destroy everything? That would destroy the balance of the World and the Realm."_

"_So be it. You and I still have the ability to Imagine. We two, Conductor and Composer, have the power to make up for the loss of the Earthly beings."_

"_Sir, you can't just erase the World like that!"_

"_They have forced my hand, Sanae."_

"_Sir, I beg of you. Give me one chance. Allow me to change your mind…"_

The voices ended and the light subsided. She realized that what she had heard may have been important and decided to save that information for later. Turning to the other papers, she Scanned the reports. Flipping through them, Raven found nothing in particular except the very last page. Turning to the back of Secret Report 15, Raven saw several blue lines which she made out to be a map of Azarath. In the very center was a large red 'X' directly on the Azarathian Castle, with a line extending from it, leading to a note on the margin of the map: "Azarathian Stream."

Raven stopped Scanning as she realized what it meant. Underneath Azarath was an underground stream that brings water to everyone. Almost no one ever enters the stream, making it the perfect hideout. It was also much too far underground for sensors to detect, making the Azarathian Stream the perfect hideout. That must be where the Composer was hiding!

"I've got it," Raven muttered as she took out her Titans communicator, a worn device that Cyborg had brought for them, though none of them had been used in years after the team disbanded. "Titans, Raven here. Do you copy?"

"Copy."

"Copy."

"Copy."

"Copy."

"Copy."

"I think I got it. There's an underground river under Azarath called the Azarathian Stream. I think that's where Soel and the Taboo are hiding."

"And I've got the Crystal Sword," Beast Boy said. "I have Raphael here, too. It seems he's also unaffected by the spell."

"That's great! Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, and Terra. I'm about to open a portal near the Titans Tower. That portal will bring you to the Azarathian Castle. Get there ASAP. Beast Boy and Raphael, make your way out of the Castle and to the front entrance. We can get to the Stream from the Castle. Do you copy?"

"Copy," they replied.

"Raven, over and out."

Raven carelessly tossed the communicator aside and transformed into her Soul-self, flying through the walls and outside towards the Azarathian Castle. Reaching the front door in seconds, she reverted back to normal and swiftly created a portal that would lead to Titans Tower. From there, she waited for the others to come to her.

"Soel…" she mumbled to herself. "I don't want to fight you. But if you really are the Composer… You'll have to pay."

Beast Boy and Raphael soon came, with the former carrying a large sword in his hand. Handing it to Raven, who took it graciously, Beast Boy said, "Looks like it's all coming to an end."

In time, the other four Titans emerged from the portal, which dissipated instantly. Without hesitation, she lead the around the Castle towards the back, where a large door stood, about a quarter the height of the Castle's massive front door. "This back door is never opened and leads to the Azarathian Stream. This is… where the Composer lies."

"How are we gonna open that?" Cyborg said.

"We improvise." Raven concentrated her magic and chanted, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." The door began to crumble and fall apart, revealing a gaping hole leading to the Stream.

"So what happens now?" Raphael asked.

"We fight," she replied curtly. "Whatever Taboo come our way, we fight. Soon we'll find the Conductor and we'll defeat him. Then we'll find the Composer and… and we'll defeat him."

"What happens if we kill him?" Beast Boy wondered. "Doesn't a new Composer arise when the old one is killed? Who's going to take the place of the new one? Which one of us is going to take all that… unspeakable power?"

"We'll—we'll deal with that when the time comes. For now…" she sighed.

"Are you ready, Raven?" Beast Boy said to her.

"Yeah."

"This is the beginning of the end," Raphael said.

"We're bringing an end to this," Robin said.

"We shall destroy whoever threatens our homes," Starfire said.

"And save all those we care about," Cyborg said.

"Because we're the Titans," Terra said.

"Raven, before we go in—" Beast Boy said to her.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember," he said, "when we first met and I told you I was ninety percent sure a single hit from a Gordanian wouldn't kill you—and you slapped me in the face and told me it was for the other ten percent?" Raven nodded.

"Well, I just want you to know that right now, I'm one hundred percent sure that—that nothing they can do can stop you. You'll come out of this in victory, I'm sure of it. I have faith in you. Also… in all my years as a superhero, I always figured a super villain would kill me," he said. "A rogue super-powered man. A battle. But eleven years ago, when I rescued you from Paen, I realized that I just might die if I didn't get to kiss you, and soon." Raven licked her dry lips. "Well, you did," she said. "Kiss me, I mean."

He reached up and took a few strands of her hair between his fingers. He was close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body, smell his soap and skin and hair.

"Not enough," he said, letting her hair slip through his fingers. "If I kiss you all day every day for the rest of my life, it won't be enough."

"Beast Boy, we're gonna be okay," she whispered to him.

"I know, but just in case… something happens to us… to me… I wanted to tell you," he sighed. "We've been through so much together. Trigon, Paen, the Taboo… Everything we've known changed. You used to be that creepy girl that I annoy all the time. And now… you're the one I can't live without. I don't know anything anymore. All I know is that I love you. And for the first time, that's good enough."

"Beast Boy…"

"I hope—I hope we make it through this… so I can see Raven Roth's face for the rest of my life," he smiled.

"I hope we make it through this," Raven repeated. "So I can fill our lives with endless love."

"Can you do this?"

"I can… because I have to." Looking up at the others, who smiled back at her reassuringly, then towards the hole where the Composer lay, Raven shouted with all her might, "Titans GO!"

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	15. The End of the Beginning x Past

_**Secret Report 15**_

_Via Purifico has begun. The entire world is now under complete control. I feel like I can rest easy now, knowing this has been a success._

_Via Purifico is a mind-control spell, first tested on Seymour. It casts a spell over all Earthly beings—one of complete, utter obedience. Because of the sheer magnitude of the very powerful spell, a great source of energy was needed, and Raven's power was decided to be the best source. The only protection against it is the pendants._

_The pendants enhance one's own abilities, yes, but its true purpose is its ability to read other people's minds. To Scan their thoughts. Individual human thoughts are surrounded by barriers that keep them separate and distinct, preventing other people from entering one's mind. Pendants are able to break down this barrier, allowing its user to Scan people's minds. But it also strengthens one's own barriers, which is why it is impossible to Scan someone who owns a pendant. Were that not the case, the incoming flood of other minds could erode at the user's own consciousness. Via Purifico works in the same way as Scanning as it breaks down the barriers in people's minds and replaces them with a single consciousness. However, it cannot break down the barriers of those who own pendants. This is why Raven and her friends are safe from Via Purifico… for now._

_Via Purifico… It is very beautiful in its own way. As I stand here, Scanning the thoughts of the people, I can practically feel the harmony in their thoughts. Before, their thoughts have been an endless jumble of cacophonous discord. Now they are a mellifluous euphony. Perhaps this is not the best way… but it is for the best. Perhaps this is unlike me, but I must place the World before myself._

…

"Eight centimeters. Almost there," the nurse said to Rayne, who was lying on the hospital bed and breathing heavily.

"When can the baby come out?"

"At ten centimeters, sweetie."

"Okay, thank you." Rayne squeezed her eyes and moaned out loud as she felt another contraction coming. When it subsided, she looked at the nurse, who held her hand comfortingly.

"Our studies have shown that patients often experience less pain when they have someone to talk to," the nurse said to her. "Since there's no one else here, would you mind talking to me?"

"Sure," Rayne replied as sweat started to form on her forehead. "Thanks."

"Now, if you don't mind me asking, who is the father?" Rayne was silent for a moment, causing the nurse to blush and quickly apologize, "I'm sorry—that was way out of line. I shouldn't have asked—"

"He's dead."

"O—oh. I'm very sorry for your loss."

"It's fine," Rayne attempted a smile. "I've never talked about him to anyone before."

"Would—would it be fine to talk to me? It might ease your pain."

She deliberated for a moment, then slowly nodded and said with a wistful voice, "His name was Richard Burke. He was—was simply amazing. Strong, diligent, brave… he was good. There's no way to describe him." As the nurse nodded along appreciatively, Rayne continued, "He was my boss at first. He was a secret government agent and I was his secretary. We first met through a cup of coffee." She smiled as the voices echoed through her mind once more.

"_What makes you think I'm stupid, Miss Lockart?"_

"_Because you're rich. Rich people are always stupid, no exception."_

"_Well, what if I'm not? I'm not rich or stupid; I'm smart and poor."_

"_You're not smart and poor, I'm smart and poor. You're stupid and rich."_

"_Well then, what makes you smart?"_

"_I'm smart enough that if you were to ask me out for coffee, I'd say no."_

"_Wow, this girl. Guess what, Sherlock, I wasn't ever going to ask you out for coffee in the first place!"_

"_Well that's exactly what makes you stupid."_

"We bonded quickly because we kind of had messed up lives," Rayne chuckled half-heartedly. "His parents had died in combat while a car accident killed my mom and left my dad in a coma. My dad passed a few months back because I couldn't afford to pay the life support without my job.

"I was really in a bad position in my life back then, but he helped me smile again. I was studying to be an architect, but I had to work and study at the same time. He was kind and was often lenient whenever I had exams.

"We got engaged as I finished undergrad. Our plan was that his high-paying job would cover my expenses as I studied for a degree. Soon I got pregnant as well, which made us all the happier. Then he died… in a plane explosion.

"That kind of… messed things up for me. My workplace was shut down and I had no job. I have no money to go to school anymore. I can't be an architect anymore. And now… I have a baby…"

"Oh honey," the nurse said, stroking Rayne's hand before pulling her in for a hug. "I'm so, so sorry. That's so—so tragic!"

"I just—I just wish he was here. More than anything," Rayne said, holding back the tears.

"Tell me, sweetie. When was the last time you saw him? Do you remember?"

Of course Rayne remembered. She replayed it in her mind whenever she went to sleep at night. "It was a small dinner. He had a filet mignon and I had a medium rare. We were celebrating,"—she couldn't help bet let a tiny smile escape her—"because I had finished a model of my first house."

"A model?"

"Yeah. All my four undergrad years I've been slowly creating a model and blueprints for a vacation house that I'd create when I become an architect. It was a large mansion designed to be on a private island, surrounded by a beautiful garden. I had high hopes for that project and I had just finished it, so he called for a celebration. I remember that night he had to go away on a mission. I gave him my blueprints and my 1/100th scale model for the mansion. He said that if he could keep it, then he'd have all the more reason to come back and return it to me once his mission was over. In the end… I never saw those blueprints or him ever again."

"Oh sweetie, that is so sad," the nurse whimpered, wiping away a tear from her own face. "But you know what they say. If you love someone enough, they'll always be in your heart. And when you want to see them, all you have to do is close your eyes and look inside."

"I will," Rayne nodded, before suddenly yelping from an unforeseen contraction.

"I think we should be at ten centimeters now. I'll go get the other nurses," the nurse said abruptly. She made her way out but suddenly stopped and added, "Smile. You're gonna have a baby!"

…

"Push! Push, Rayne, push!" the doctor said gently but firmly.

"I am! Arghh!" Rayne screamed. She had been pushing for nearly an hour now. She could taste the sweat that poured down her face and smell the scent of blood. Her energy was almost completely depleted and she felt like she was going to pass out.

"Push!"

She gasped and wheezed and took a deep breath before pushing out again as hard as she could. Every single muscle of her body ached with such pain that she felt she could go on no longer.

"Push Rayne!"

"I—I can't…" she gasped. "I can't do it, I can't."

"Yes you can!"

"No, I—I can't do this. I can't do it anymore."

"Yes you can, Rayne," said a different voice. Rayne opened her eyes and saw a man standing before her. He reached out and took hold of her hand, squeezing it gently in his own. "You can, because you have to."

"Richard…" she whispered. "Why aren't you here with me? Why did you leave me like that?"

"I'm sorry, Rayne, but I had no choice but to leave." The man's eyes were brimming with sadness. "I want to come back so bad but I can't. Not now. But you have to do this for us. Our baby is almost here. He's here, Rayne. So you have to do this. You have to let our baby live."

"Richard, please stay with me!"

"I'm always with you, wherever you go. But you have to do this, Rayne."

"I—" she panted, "I will."

Closing her eyes and squeezing Richard's hands, Rayne Lockart let out a loud scream and pushed as hard as she possibly could.

Slowly the sound of her cries was replaced by the sound of a baby's cries.

All time seemed to slow down as Rayne watched as Richard slowly walked past the doctors and towards the door. Before she knew it, she was holding her baby in her arms, rocking him back and forth as he slept peacefully. He was covered in blood but she didn't mind. "He's so—so small," Rayne whispered.

"What will you name him?" she heard a voice which she presumed was the doctor's.

Rayne was silent for a moment, slowly rocking her baby, before telling him, "Garfield. His name will be Garfield. Gar…"

"That's a beautiful name," the nurse said to her. As Rayne looked at the door, she saw Richard nodding to her with a wide smile and whispering, "It really is." As she smiled back at him, she watched as he turned around and walked out the door into a shining line and disappear.

"You're my baby," she said to the boy in her arms. "You're my Garfield. I wish that—that I never have to let you go…"

Her tired eyes betrayed a look of sadness as she remembered the two doctors she had promised to give the baby to, as she did not have the money to raise a baby on her own. "Soon you'll be Garfield Logan," Rayne whimpered as a tear escaped her. "But right now… right now you're mine. You're Garfield Lockart." Looking up at the door where her vision of Richard once stood, she corrected herself, "No… You are Garfield Burke. My baby. For the rest of your life you are Garfield Logan, but for now you are Garfield Burke. You are my baby."

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	16. A Friend's Return x Present

_**Secret Report 16 **_

_She is ready. Raven is at her strongest now. She is prepared to face the Conductor. And if she defeats him… she's prepared to face me…_

_Come, Raven. I await you._

_Come…_

…

Raven walked inside the dark corridor underneath the Azarathean Castle, leading the Titans with Crystal Sword in hand. The corridor was long and wide, illuminated by a strange, undeterminable light source as the sound of rushing waters echoed throughout the walls. She shivered, not from cold or fear, but from anxiety. This was it. The last battle.

The sound of their footsteps echoed in the hallway and rang in their ears. None of them spoke.

A sudden shriek from Starfire's lips made them all jump up. Seeing the Tamaranian shake and point her finger towards the floor a few feet in front of them, Raven followed the direction of her finger and saw in utter dismay a body laying lifelessly on the ground. She swiftly walked towards the body and examined it gruesomely. It was covered in blood and its clothes were torn in many places. Slowly adjusting the corpse with her foot, Raven gasped upon seeing the bloody, mangled face.

It was Seymour.

"S—Seymour?" Beast Boy said out loud. "Who could've done this to him?"

"The Composer…" Raven said in reply. "And judging by how powerful Seymour was in the first place, one can only imagine how powerful the Composer must be."

"Hey, heheh," Cyborg chuckled. "If you think 'bout it, this kinda works good for us."

"How?" Beast Boy remarked.

"Hey, one less bad guy to worry about, right?"

"Yeah…" the sorceress retorted. "Now all we have to worry about is the much stronger guy that took him down."

"Ehh," the mechanical man shrugged. "Details…"

"There's something in his hand," Robin noted, crouching down and removing a piece of paper from Seymour's cold fingers. "It's a note. _See you in the Composer's Chamber._"

Raven gulped and pressed forward. The team soon came to a large scarlet door. "Ready guys?" she asked them. Not waiting for a response, the woman grabbed the cold, shimmering handle and pulled it open, leading the others into the light from the room within.

Inside was a room filled with white. The walls, floors, and ceiling were a blinding white while all the furniture was white as well. It was shaped similarly to a lounge or a pad and was decked out in some of the best furniture Raven had ever seen. Standing in stark contrast to the white, however, were twelve men and woman dressed in pitch black jackets—the Taboo.

"Well, well, well," said one of them. "Look who we've got here. The proxy and her rag-tag team of heroes."

"Why am I always called the 'proxy'?" Raven muttered to herself while getting into a ready position.

"What do you kids want?" another Taboo said to them.

"We're here for the Composer!" Beast Boy cried.

"And what would you six want with him?" another Taboo joined.

"What do ya think?" Cyborg yelled. "We gonna take him down!"

"Not a chance. You're not even fit to look upon him."

"The Composer's utmost concern is mankind's happiness. He exists to shepherd the Earthly beings towards the right future, and thus all his acts are motivated by boundless love," the first Taboo snapped.

"You think you egoists have the right to lay your eyes—let alone a finger—on a being so far above you?" one of the Taboo hissed.

"I don't care about a word you said," Beast Boy said. "But I'm gonna take down the Composer and stop you guys no matter what!"

"You see! That is the very kind of self-serving egotism that has brought about the World's downfall."

"It is mortal scum like you," a different Taboo said with disgust, "that has forced the Composer to remake the World into his image."

"We will not allow you to get in the way of his goal!" one of the black-jacketed men roared.

"Just try and stop us," Raven glared. "Titans GO!"

Battle then ensued between the six Titans and twelve Taboo. Terra—having mastered her powers and could levitate any object—levitated the nearby furniture and threw them at the Taboo. Cyborg fired away with his sonic cannon which had been upgraded greatly over the years. Starfire blasted off with her starbolts as Robin took out twin rods twirled them around masterfully. Beast Boy transformed in the Beast—a monster which Raven hadn't seen in many years and immediately flung a Taboo across the room. Finally, the Titans' biggest powerhouse—Raven—began swinging around the Crystal Sword with her right hand while simultaneously casting spells like there was no tomorrow with her left. The pendants increased their powers greatly and they were able to fight on the same level with the Taboo.

However, their black-jacketed enemies were just as powerful, firing spells here and there like crazy. The Taboo were extremely gifted in powerful magic and most also had enormous physical strength as well. It was a very heated battle, one that Raven knew she had to run away from. Her target was the Conductor and Composer—not the Taboo. She Scanned the room for a secret passage and was pleased to find a hidden portal located on the wall opposite the entrance door. Evading incoming attacks, she managed to slip away and enter the portal safely.

…

"Soel… Soel…" Raven thought to herself as she walked down the dark hallway. "Why are you the Composer? Why do you want to brainwash everyone? Why? Why would you betray us like that?

"When we first met… I thought you were different. I—I had such a great fondness, such a great respect for you. Everything you said about living life… it all clicked. I respected you so much. And now… But I won't falter anymore. You taught me better than that.

"You struck me as a good man, Soel. Mr. S… But now—is this who you truly are?"

Raven sighed a great sigh as she came to a large room. "This is it…" she gasped. "The Composer's Chamber." She looked down remorsefully to the ground. "Robin… Starfire… Cyborg… Terra… Joshua… Beast Boy… You all got me where I am now. It's up to me now. I won't let you down. I promise."

Taking a deep breath, the woman shouted with all her might, "Come on out, Composer! Fight me! You want to defeat me, right? Is that it? So come out here and fight!" Feeling her heavy heart droop, she added half-heartedly, "Come out here and fight me… Soel…"

A pause, followed by a dark voice. "Who's Soel?"

"What?" Raven jumped. Standing before her was Sanae Kang, the Conductor, dressed in all black with a smirk on his face. "Who's this 'Soel' you're speaking of?"

"S—Soel…" she replied cautiously. "The Composer…"

The man before her burst into laughter—a scary and almost horrifying sight as he had always been very stoic and introverted. "W—What's so funny?" she asked him.

"I am so amazed," he replied curtly. "Here you are on the final stage, the end of the road, and yet you still have no clue who's who!"

"What… do you mean?"

"Alright. You want answers? First of all, the Composer's not who you think it is. That 'Soel' of yours? Just another regular guy, according to my knowledge. Second of all, the Composer's not here."

"N—not here?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Never was. He left quite a while ago. You see, Raven… _I've_ been in charge this entire time. For the past eleven or so years ever since we invaded Azarath, all the Taboo have been obeying _me_. Not the Composer."

"Soel's not the Composer…" Raven understood. "So that means you're responsible for all this!"

"For many things, yes."

"But—but why? Why would you do this to the World? What, you want power? Domination? You already have all that! So why would you create Via Purifico and brainwash everyone?"

The Conductor cleared his throat. "Raven. Do you like music? Music requires many things. Players, instruments, performers… But the key thing is a conductor, to hold it all together. The World is very much the same. Under one Conductor, one ideal, the world of men marches towards bliss. Didn't you feel it in Earth? Rage. Hate. Misery. Envy. Fear. A cacophony of selfish wants and desires. As that noise swells, it turns into warfare, crime… All the World's ills can be traced back to individuality. By tearing down the differences between us, I can make the world into a paradise! What a wonderful world such would be…"

"By making everyone think alike? By tearing away people's free will and replacing it with your own will? By stripping everyone of their true selves and replacing them with—with robotic personalities?"

"If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that men do not learn by being told.

Instead, they must be shown. If I say unto a man, 'Be kind, be tolerant, be of an open mind,' these worlds will wither and die long before they've affected change. This is the only way, Raven.

"What have your dealings with other people brought you, Raven? Only hurt. Pain, suffering, death. You remember them very well." Raven was silent. "Join me and we shall create a new World!"

"No. Never," Raven declared. "Maybe living in your World would be easier. Maybe. Except one problem—it wouldn't BE the World. It wouldn't be the World I know and love. Back then, I was never good with people. I tried to block them out. But you know what? If I don't clash, I don't change. My time with the Titans has changed me. I learned from them to accept others and care about other people. The World is full of those people waiting for moments like those—moments to clash with someone and find something new. The World is full of amazing things. Life… love… I won't let you take those things away!"

"Do you expect, then, to defeat me all by yourself?" the Conductor snickered.

"Not a chance!" Beast Boy shouted. Raven turned around to find her five friends running up towards her with Beast Boy at their head.

"We're in this together, yo!" Cyborg barked. "We ain't letting you take away our World!"

"We're ready, Conductor," Raven declared. "Give us your best shot!"

"Very well," the man sighed. "I'm this close. Once I eliminate these six, the World will be saved."

"Us six will defend the World no matter what!"

"Make that seven!" said an unseen voice. Raven turned around to see who the mysterious newcomer was and saw a young man approaching them. As she saw the man's face, she felt the blood drain from her own as her jaw dropped in shock and horror.

"Missed me?" said Joshua.

"J—Joshua!" Raven gasped. Despite the heat in her face, it felt as if cold needles of ice were running up and down her veins. "What are you doing here?"

He drew back slightly, looking disappointed. "That isn't really an answer to my question, you know. I was expecting more of a 'Hallelujah Chorus.' I mean, it's not every day your best friend comes back from the dead."

She shook her head. "How—how are you here? I saw you—your body. You—" She looked up at Beast Boy, who was just as speechless and pale as she.

Joshua opened his mouth as if to reply, but suddenly jumped back and shouted, "Raven, look out!"

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	17. The Conductor's Will x Present

_**Secret Report 17**_

_These final few reports I write on a few pieces of scratch paper with a small pen that is slowly running out of ink. I now write as I lay hidden inside the Azarathean Stream where not even the Conductor can detect me. All I can do now is wait and write, wait and write._

_For the past month, Raven had been searching for ROSE, which she believed would help her defeat the Conductor. In the end, she did find ROSE, but was unable to correctly identify it. ROSE was not a weapon, nor a spell, nor anything physical that could have helped her. ROSE is not physical, but abstract. The truth is that ROSE was the love and support of the people and friends in Raven's life. ROSE is her loved ones and how she will protect them no matter what. The 'E' from Azarathean Treasury was symbolic of her partnership and eventual friendship with Joshua. The 'S' from the forests of Azarath was symbolic of her love and dedication to Azarath. The 'O' from the attacked village was symbolic of her devotion and duty to protect her people. The 'R' from her mind was symbolic of her endless love for Beast Boy and her loved ones. She had to have found all four of these for her to gain the strength to fight the Conductor._

_I desperately want Raven to live. I have become too close with her to wish her dead. However, due to her pendant, her resistance to Via Purifico is too great. There is no way to mind control her and therefore… she must die. It would have been no use for her to run around Azarath struggling to find the Conductor so I've left her a hidden message in my fifteenth report—a map that points towards the Stream. All I can do is guide her here to fulfill the prophecy and clash with the Conductor. The moment that the Composer and High Lady Azar had foreseen is about to become reality. The Conductor and the Proxy shall clash and out of that struggle shall emerge a victor._

_Whoever that victor is shall determine the fate of the World as we know it._

_Please, Raven. I beg of you. Please be defeated by the Conductor. If you defeat him, I promise I will come to you and explain everything. But then I'd have to kill you. I'd rather you die thinking I'm the bad guy than live and see the truth._

_That is the fate of a hero. They either die a hero or live long enough to see themselves turn into a villain…_

…

"Raven look out!"

Raven swiftly turned around and saw a ball of dark energy hurling towards her. In one swift movement, she took the Crystal Sword and slashed the ball in two, dissipating it, and formed her own ball of dark energy in her hands, flinging it at the Conductor with ferocious might. The man was taken aback by the sudden counterattack, but quickly recuperated and gave a tiny smirk before muttering some incantations. As he finished the spell, five orbs of darkness rose from the shadows, morphing into five silhouettes before eventually forming into five clones of the Conductor, himself. A battle then ensued, with the five clones attacking the five Titans while Raven attacked the true Conductor, who summoned a dark sword of his own.

The battle was almost a blur to Raven. She was never a master at handling swords and was swinging it around clumsily, but the magical properties of the sword, seemed to guide her hand into the perfect position. Sanae, on the other hand, was very skilled at the sword and made up for his lack of power compared to the Crystal Sword's by his skill. _Cling clang_ the two swords sounded, one of crystalline light and the other of shadowy darkness.

She made quick glances towards her teammates and saw that they were losing. Fighting the Taboo had been hard enough, but they managed to subdue the black-jacketed men. But these Conductor clones were much stronger, much faster, and much more powerful. She knew she had to end this now before any of them get seriously hurt.

Dodge, dodge, parry, block, swing, miss, parry… The process seemed to repeat itself again and again. She had to land a hit. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" she chanted, unleashing a flare of darkness upon the man, who was flung back a couple feet. Regaining his balance, he checked his right palm and seemed frightened at what he saw. Momentarily distracted by whatever was on his hand, he did not see Raven approaching. She had taken advantage of his pause and ran forward, raising her sword and slashing him viciously across the face.

"Argh!" the man shouted, sending out a shockwave of energy from his body that caused Raven to fall backwards. "I must end this now! My time is running out!" he screamed as he swung his sword towards Raven, who blocked it with her own. The two swords were inches away from her face and she could feel the Conductor breathing on her. "You must die, Raven. You have to die!" His eyes were as bloodthirsty as a wolf.

"Never…" she growled. Kicking him in his stomach, she bounced back up and swiftly thrust her sword into his chest.

"Aaaggghhhh!" the man screamed as his sword and clones promptly disappeared. "Im—possible!" Raven pulled out her sword and let it fall to her feet, watching as the Conductor stepped back in horror. "I—I can't die—now…"

"You're finished," she said calmly, even though her heart was racing.

"Hehe," Joshua giggled. "Looks like your time's almost up, Sanae."

"No," the man choked, holding his wound tenderly. "I won't let it end this way. I won't allow it! I will… I will protect the World no matter what!" He pointed his weary hand at them and shot out a stream of darkness, which flew right past them and landed on Joshua. The blonde man's face was shocked but instantly turned into an intrigued grin as he was levitated in the air. The Conductor, too, floated into the air until the two men collided, forming a flash of light. "Even if I have to use your power," Raven could hear Sanae's voice call. "As well as my Taboo…" The twelve defeated Taboo appeared seemingly from nowhere and flew towards the sky, joining their master in the light before being engulfed inside. "I will not allow myself to lose!"

The light faded, revealing to the startled six a massive, horrendous dragon towering above them. The dragon was primary yellow and red with colossal demonic wings protruding from its sides. On its chest was the Taboo insignia—a scarlet stylized skull with demonic wings. Positioned directly above the insignia was Joshua, whose arms were outstretched and was seemingly attached to the dragon, itself. The dragon let out a mighty roar that shook the Composer's Chamber as well as the hearts of the six Titans trembling below.

"Titans GO!" Raven shouted as she jumped up, flying towards the dragon with Crystal Sword in hand. Cyborg and Starfire proceeded to firing sonic blasts and starbolts at the dragon while Terra levitated the nearby boulders and flung them at the dragon. Robin rode a green horse towards the dragon with a bo in hand. As they reached it, the horse flung Robin up as high as it could towards the dragon's back and morphed into a Tyrannosaurus Rex, furiously biting and clawing at the dragon. The dragon breathed out dark fire and swung its massive claws at the Titans, but they persisted.

"Fools!" the dragon suddenly called. "You dare to oppose me? I shall show you the way!" With that, an orange bubble wrapped itself around Terra and lifted her up. As Terra cried out in horror, the Titans watched as the bubble she was in was lifted towards the dragon's right arm and partially fused into its shoulder. As Terra inside called for help, the dragon raised its right arm and nearby rocks and boulders were telepathically lifted and thrown towards the Titans. They dodged them with moderate difficulty as Beast Boy yelled to the others, "Watch out! The Conductor can absorb our powers!"

They proceeded fighting as such, dodging dark fire, claws, and rocks while simultaneously trying to land as many hits as possible, until Robin was suddenly taken by an orange bubble and was absorbed on its left forearm. The dragon then added a new attack to its repertoire—shadowy bat-a-rangs and bo staves shooting out of its left palm.

The pattern repeated like that, with each Titan being picked off one by one and having their powers absorbed by the massive Conductor-dragon. Starfire was next and was absorbed on its throat, giving it the ability to fire starbolt beams from its eyes. Cyborg was captured next and was absorbed in the dragon's right forearm, allowing the dragon to shoot sonic cannon blasts from its right palm.

The two remaining Titans knew who was next and Beast Boy tried to fight as long as possible. He morphed into the Beast and climbed up top of the dragon, clawing and pounding viciously on the dragon's head while Raven levitated around the dragon's body, swiping and slashing the monstrous creature wherever she could, being careful not to accidentally strike a friend. In due time, a boulder flew towards the Beast and knocked him off. He reverted to human formed and was caught in mid-air by an orange bubble. "Raven!" he shouted as he was transported into the dragon's left shoulder.

Raven landed in front of the dragon and watched as it raised its left arm—she could almost detect a hint of a smile on its hideous face—causing phantom animals of all shapes and sizes to appear from nowhere and rush towards her. Raven gritted her teeth and slashed a phantom elephant with her sword, causing it to evaporate and disappear. So too with all the other phantom animals until there were none left.

The dragon seemed to laugh as it said to her in a voice so horrible, "You are all alone now, just as you always are. Your friends are gone—too weak to resist my power and stay by your side. You are alone. Where are your friends now? Where is your strength now? Where is that love that you so blindly proclaim?"

"It's—it's here," Raven panted, pointing at her chest.

"Your pendant?" the dragon cackled. "Do you honestly think that can save you?"

"No, not my pendant. My heart! My friends, family, loved ones… they'll always be in my heart. No matter what the distance, no matter how much we're separated by space, time, or death, they'll always be with me! My friends, my people of Azarath, everyone that I've met… they empower me! They'll give me strength, I know that now. And I may seem alone, but their strength gives me the will to go on! And that strength is so powerful that you can't even imagine it, Sanae! You want to see our power? You want to see our strength? Well here it is!"

Raven looked at her friends trapped in the dragon's bubbles, who all gave her an encouraging smile. She thought of all the memories she had shared with them—all the times they had been there for her. Through Trigon, through Paen, through everything, they had given her strength. She thought of them—Terra, Starfire, Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raphael, Joshua… and Soel—and could feel their strength rushing through her veins. Levitating up in the air as pure energy flowed from her cloak, she held the Crystal Sword with both hands and pointed it directly at the Conductor's face. Her eyes glowed white with power and her pendant shook with fury. Gathering up all her strength of her friends, people, and World, she cried out as loud as she could with a voice so great that it shook the entire world:

"AZARATH METRION ZINTHOS!"

…

The Crystal Sword fell to the ground as Raven stood panting—having used almost all her strength. The five Titans rushed to her side and helped her up, walking her towards the Conductor, who was lying on the ground gasping, wheezing, and coughing. Joshua was already standing next to the dying Conductor, chuckling, "Hee hee. Well Sanae, looks like I win."

"NOOOO!," the man gasped. "It can't end like this. I won't let it!" Struggling with all his might, he managed to get up on his knees into a kneeling position. "Please, I beg of you."

"I'm sorry, Sanae," Joshua shrugged. "I won fair and square. You know it."

"Then… you'll do as you intended?"

"I will. But that depends on the proxy," Joshua nodded his head towards Raven.

"You're going to erase it… I've never lived in the World myself, but I was created from the souls of those who had. Their love for the World courses in my veins. I tried so hard to protect it but now… The streets and people I know and love… gone."

"You've done well, Sanae."

"I gave it my all, sir. I have no regrets."

"You know, I have to admit. I really did like your idea. It's a real shame it didn't work out."

"You gave me a wonderful opportunity. I'm only ashamed I couldn't please you completely."

Looking up towards Raven, who now stood before him, he said to her with reflective eyes, "How was it that you made it all this way? How is it possible that you survived all of this? How is it possible… for you to defeat me and destroy everything that I've done?"

"It's because," the woman answered. "I have the love and support of those around me. I lean on them as they lean on me. They help me, and I help them."

The Conductor attempted a brief laugh which came out as a mix between a cackle and a cough. "Now I can see… why he picked you…"

"He?" Raven asked. "Who's 'he'?"

Sanae looked at his right palm, and Raven could see etched on his skin was a magical timer—the same one that was on her own hand for the past year. "What?" she said in surprise. "Why do you have a timer?" She saw that it was counting down with little less than thirty seconds left.

"Raven, now that I am defeated, there's no one left to protect the World," the Conductor said to her. "I ask of you—no, I BEG of you. Take that love of yours and use it to protect the World at all costs. Don't let the World disappear like this!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Please…" the Conductor begged as he started disappearing in smoke. "Don't let my World be erased…" As his timer reached zero, he was engulfed in smoke and left nothing of his existence but a small pile of ash.

"What—" Beast Boy sighed in confusion. "What is going on?"

Raven turned suspiciously towards Joshua, who held a wide grin on his face. "Joshua," she asked. "What's… going on here?"

"Heheh, well I suppose you should know, considering you've helped me so much," the blonde man said. "All this was a game, one between me and the Conductor."

"Huh? What are you saying?"

"Let me make this obvious, Raven." Turning towards the other five Titans, he snapped his fingers and they all suddenly gasped in unison.

"What is—happening?" Starfire said without moving.

"I can't—move!" Robin struggled.

Joshua snickered as he turned back towards Raven, whose face was pale in shock. "It was me all along." And with his twinkling eyes and smirking lips as if he were telling a joke, he said to her…

"I'm the Composer."

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	18. Revelations x Present

_**Secret Report 18**_

_Why does individuality exist? This is something the Conductor has overlooked. Everything that exists has a purpose. Obsessed with his egoistic "protection" of the World, the Conductor has blinded himself to the facts. With his blind ego funneled into everyone in the World, his own consciousness and will imprinted in everyone's mind, the World's destruction is not far off._

_So long as there is individuality, it is impossible to fully eliminate loneliness. There is no such thing as a shared reality. Even people who believe they share a connection are not truly connected. They must actually make contact, clash, and learn about others through their foreignness. Differences should not be denied; they should be accepted and enjoyed._

_People must realize this if the World is to be spared from destruction._

…

"I'm the Composer." Raven felt her heart drop and the blood rush from her face. Her jaw hung and her eyes widened as the hair on her head stood on end. Her hands began shivering in shock.

"You—you can't be…" she whispered. "That's impossible…"

"I know it must be difficult for you to accept, given all that quality time we've spent together," he joked. "But it's the truth and I need you to accept it."

"No," she shook her head. "You can't be… You said you were trying to defeat the Composer!"

"That was a lie, Raven. I just said that to gain your trust. Make you more convinced that I was someone you could believe. In the end, it worked very well."

"But how did this—what is this—," she was at a loss for words. "Why did you do all this?"

"You see Raven," Joshua explained. "All this was a game between me and Sanae, one that determined the fate of the World…" He waved his hand and gave her a vision—the world around her faded into white as she saw two figures standing before her whom she identified as the Conductor and Joshua.

"_But sir… why?" she heard the Conductor say._

"_I've decided to wash my hands of it, Sanae,"_ _came Joshua's response._

"_But sir, the World is full of so many opportunities."_

"_Yes, and people so full of themselves to act upon those opportunities."_

"_But—to erase the World? Destroy everything? That would destroy the balance of the World and the Realm."_

"_So be it. You and I still have the ability to Imagine. We two, Conductor and Composer, have the power to make up for the loss of the Earthly beings."_

"_Sir, you can't just erase the World like that!"_

"_They have forced my hand, Sanae."_

"_Sir, I beg of you. Give me one chance. Allow me to change your mind…"_

"_How, Sanae?"_

"_If I can prove to you that the World is capable of change—that its people are able to be good and care for one another rather than themselves… Will you stay your hand?"_

"…_A game then. If you can prove to me that the World is worth something, then you win. I will spare the World."_

"_But sir, what chance will I have of defeating you?"_

"_Relax, Sanae. I will be sure to handicap myself greatly and I won't challenge you directly. Instead, I will pick a proxy to represent me. That proxy will act and oppose you in my stead. But if you fail and you are defeated by my proxy, both you and the World will be erased."_

"_That is alright."_

"_Good." A flash of light as a timer suddenly appeared in Sanae's right hand. "You have twelve years, Sanae, representative of your twelve Taboo, whom I assume will help you in your goal."_

"_Thank you, sir. I won't let you down."_

The vision ended and the white faded as her consciousness was brought back to the Composer's Chamber.

"You see, I wanted to erase the World because of all the chaos and warfare I saw," Joshua continued. "Sanae vowed to protect the World and offered to change my mind with a game. If he changed the World into a better place and defeated my chosen proxy in twelve years, he'd win and the World would be saved. He eventually formulated a plan called Via Purifico to brainwash everyone. But if my chosen proxy defeated him, he'd lose and the World will be erased. Simple as that."

"Wait…" she gasped in horror. "Then that means… all this time, everything I've done—"

"—You were playing for my team," he finished. "You did a bang-up job, by the way. Couldn't have done it without you."

"What have I done…?" she whispered. "So I'm—I'm your proxy?"

"Bingo! Your sharp as a tack, Rae. You see, twelve years ago, I was stuck with a decision: Who'd best be my proxy? My eyes were instantly set on you, Raven. You attracted my attention ever since you defeated Trigon, the leader of the Demons. I decided you were the best choice. I was really scared in the Paen incident—thought I had lost my best girl—but that eventually resolved itself. For the past month I manipulated the Polaris guys into having me be your partner to search for ROSE. The Taboo were a growing threat and I had to protect you until the fated Rae-Rae VS Sanae-nae battle I'd been waiting for for twelve years."

"But—but you saved me last year! You stopped the Conductor from killing me."

"Of course. He was so close to winning the game at that moment. But I found a loophole. You see, he's not allowed to take your power and destroy you with it. That would mean he's using _my_ resources. Him using your power for Via Purifico was acceptable, if not a bit dodgy, but using your power to kill you was unacceptable in my book, so I had to interfere and call foul.

"It was at that moment that I'd realize you simply were not strong enough to face him—not at this rate," Joshua continued. "So I spoke with Soel on what I should do. I eventually realized that you must be in your Ethereal form in order to properly combat the Conductor. I deliberated and realized that in order for you to most safely shift into your Ethereal form, your Earthly form had to be killed. I also took the liberty of giving you a new, stronger pendant to further amplify your powers. And so I—well you know what happened."

"N—no," Raven said. "The day I was shot, it was Seymour who had killed me, not you."

"Oh that's right," Joshua said with a playful face-palm. "His bullet was meant for me. You see, Seymour had been lusting for my position as the Composer for a long while. He found my identity through the Conductor and hunted me down. He believed he could kill me with a simple gun in the World—a gross miscalculation. He tried to kill me, but I showed him just how strong I was and forced him to flee. I decided to keep him, however. He sure knows how to heat up a game, hehe. He started to overheat, however, and I had to retire him."

"You mean… You were the one who killed him?"

"Yes, ma'am. It got to the point where he nearly killed you, so I was forced to 'sacrifice' myself to protect you."

"But you died! I saw you!" Raven insisted. "I saw your body, your lifeless corpse!"

"What you saw was a clone of me, a mere shadow. In reality, I teleported away into another universe—the parallel timeline in which you had died. There I stayed until it was time for me to come again, i.e. now. Here, let me return to you the memories I had been holding onto. The memories of the day you were shot."

"Aarrghhh!" Raven's head pounded as a loud ringing echoed in her ears. She felt the memories being forcibly returned to her.

…

She remembered it all now.

She had been standing on the cliff, waiting for Beast Boy to come, when she heard footsteps approaching her. Turning around, she saw Joshua run up to her and pull out a gun. Pointing the gun in her direction, he pulled the trigger. She had fallen down in shock.

But the bullet didn't hit her. The bullet Joshua fired wasn't meant for her. Instead, it went right past her and hit _someone else_ who was standing behind her.

"Ah!" she remembered hearing someone cry out. "I blew it!"

Turning around, she remembered that the person behind her was none other than Seymour, who was holding a gun himself, and was clutching his right shoulder, which was bleeding from the gunshot. "S—Seymour?" she remembered saying.

"No," he had said. "I'm not letting you get away. Today… YOU DIE!" She remembered Seymour pulling out his own gun and firing it.

But this bullet as well went right past her. Instead it was heading directly towards Joshua. The man smiled and outstretched his palm at the bullet, forcing it to stop in mid-air and fall to the ground harmlessly. Several more bullets were fired at Joshua, but all suffered the same fate.

"What?" Seymour hissed. "Impossible! I will be the next Composer!"

"Are you sure about that?" Joshua chuckled as he pointed his gun at Seymour. The latter, realizing he had no other choice, fled while clutching the wound on his shoulder.

Raven watched as Seymour ran away. She had turned back towards Joshua and asked him, "What's going on here?" She had watched as he raised his gun, pointing it directly at her heart.

With a smirk, he fired the bullet, which landed squarely on her heart.

She had fallen down with blood pouring from her chest. Joshua reached into his pocket and pulled out a pendant, dropping it carelessly onto her body.

…

"It was you!" Raven panted. "You're—the one that killed me. From the very beginning it was you all along!"

"I've helped you all this time, Rae-Rae. From the first time we met and I helped you take back Azarath to the time I saved you from the Conductor. From the time I helped you find all pieces of ROSE and inspired you to find the Conductor to the time I protected you from Seymour. All that was me. And all that time, you were helping me erase the World. YOU are the bad guy here, Raven. And Sanae was the good guy. Ironic, isn't it?"

"I—I can't believe this…" Raven whispered despondently. "All this time… everything I've done was—for nothing…"

"Say, Raven," Joshua said to her. "Let's play a game, shall we? One that will determine the fate of the World. If you win, you get to decide what happens to the World. If I win, I decide. Of course…" he added with a cold smile, "…I've already decided."

"You're a monster."

"How about it? The rules are simple. I give you one ultimatum. If you obey, the World and everyone in it will be saved. But if you refuse, I get to erase the World, with you included in it. Capiche?"

"You played me all this time. You played all of us. I've had enough of your tricks, Joshua!" she shouted at him, on the verge of having a mental breakdown.

"I assure you there will be no tricks. So how about it? Do we have a deal?"

"F—" Raven sighed. "Fine…"

"Raven…" Joshua said in an almost apologetic voice. He then broke into a little laugh. "Your face is priceless."

"Just tell me what the hell you want, asshole!" she screamed.

"It's very simple. Probably the simplest thing you've done in your life." He beckoned Beast Boy with his finger, causing the man to be brought over to Raven's side and be free of the snare that entrapped him.

"You told me before how one must place others above oneself," Joshua said to her. "Prove to me those words. Prove to me that there is a chance the World may change. Show me one act of complete selflessness and you shall have your wonderful World."

With a wide smile and twinkling eyes as if he was telling a joke, he whispered to her: "Kill the man you love so…"

"No, NO!" Raven cried out immediately. "No, Joshua!" She placed her hands on her mouth in utter horror. "I can't—"

The Composer disappeared in a flash of light, but she knew he was still watching. Turning towards Beast Boy, Raven wrapped her arms around him and felt him do the same. "Raven," Beast Boy said, trying to comfort the whimpering Raven. "Raven, Raven! Please listen to me. You have to do this."

"No, I can't Beast Boy. I can't!" she shook her head as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"You can, because you have to."

"Stop saying that. You know I can't. I know I can't do this!"

"Raven, millions of millions of lives are at stake! Everyone from your world, everyone for my world, everyone from Starfire's world… All of those people are going to die and you can save them."

"I can't do this, Beast Boy!"

"If you don't, we're all going to die anyway!"

"But still, how can I kill you? I love you, Beast Boy. I love you. Don't you see that?"

"I know, Rae. I know." He hugged her even tighter.

"I've already watched you die once," Raven whispered. "I can't watch you die again."

"Raven. Sometimes, people have to die for things to change. I have to die. It even said so in the prophecy."

"Screw the prophecy! Screw everything. I don't care about them, I care about you!"

"Raven, you know just as well as I do that you don't have a choice. You have to save the others."

"Beast Boy…"

"Please do this. I'm begging you. Hey, I'm not scared. Not a single bit." He attempted to feign a smile. "I'm smiling, see? I'm happy. Now please… do what you have to do."

The two were silent for a moment until Raven whispered into his ear, "Do you remember… when we first formed the Teen Titans and I bet you'd be the first one to die?" He nodded. "Never once in my entire life did I think those words would be true. And never once did I believe I'd be the one to make them true. If I could, I'd take it all back. All that mean things I've said or done to you, I want to take it all back. I want more time with you, Beast Boy. A year, a week, a day… It doesn't matter. But I want more time with you. You can't—die—now…"

"That's not time that we have, Rae," he said sorrowfully. "All our memories of our love, keep them in your heart. I'll be with you always."

Raven nodded as they brought their lips together and shared one last kiss. Breaking their lips apart, Raven whispered with a soft voice as she wiped away her tears, "I know… that now you're gone, I'll be alone."

"R—Raven," Beast Boy said, on the verge of tears, himself.

"Alone with memories… my very own."

"S—stop it, Rae," he cried.

"Maybe someday you—you will return to me, my love. But through the lo—onely years I'll c—cry these lover's tears…"

Beast Boy stepped back as the five Titans behind him silently cried. Raven continued her song as she levitated Beast Boy into the air. "Come back to me, once more my love, and please never leave me again. Until that day, I'll wait for you. 'Til them my love, I know I'll never be the same..."

Her voice trailed off as she whispered, "Azarath…"

Beast Boy could feel the energy emerge around his neck. He understood that she was going to snap it—the most painless way to die. "Raven!" he cried. "I—"

"Metrion…" Tears rolled down her eyes and she could barely contain her shaking arms.

"I love—"

"Zinthos…"

If one had listened close enough, one would've heard the faint sound of Joshua's nasally giggling.

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	19. Never Forget Them x Present

_**Secret Report 19**_

_The Composer defeated the Conductor._

_The proxy defeated the Composer._

_The Composer has stayed his decision to destroy the World. It seems the course of his game with the Conductor has brought about a change of heart in him._

_Yes, the World persists—but it is no longer the same as it was years ago. In its stead, a completely new World has arisen. As the Composer has changed, so did the World itself metamorphosed. Twelve years previous, the World was plagued with problems—dire enough to motivate the Composer to destroy it. Today, it has shifted into a much better place. A much more wonderful World, or at least a vision of hope for one._

_To complete this puzzle, all of the pieces had to be set in their proper place. If even one was incorrect, the entire picture would be ruined:_

_The Titans and their friendship for each other._

_The President's love for his friends and sense of justice against the Taboo._

_Rayne Lockart aka Sarah Prynne's motherly love for her son._

_Seymour's ambition and lust for power._

_Raphael's platonic love for Raven._

_Beast Boy's caring and sincere heart._

_Raven's dedication and love._

_The Conductor's wild actions, born from overflowing love._

_All of these were necessary if the World was to be born anew. There are no extra pieces, no irrelevant components. Accept society as an ever-changing thing, and your mind will also become flexible. Individuals will link together, and enact change throughout society. This is the only way to weather—no, to ride high upon the waves of the ever-changing world. It was no coincidence the Composer opted for this simple method in the end._

_My gratitude goes out to you all. I greatly look forward to what this new World will become._

_Thank you._

…

Raven stood at the top of the Azarathean Castle, feeling the wind brush up against her hair and the sun shine down on her face. Slowly, she placed her thumb and index finger in her mouth and blew out as hard as she could, making a distinctive whistling sound. She remembered a long time ago, Beast Boy had told her that whenever she'd whistle, he'd be there as fast as he could. It was their own personal signal. Whenever one would whistle, the other would be there.

But this time, he did not come.

The sound of footsteps approaching made Raven turn around to see Starfire smiling. "Friend Raven, it is time."

"Okay, Star." Raven sighed and walked over to Starfire, creating a portal underneath them.

…

Raven walked out onto the large balcony of the Azarathean Castle where High Lady Azar would stand whenever she'd address her people. As Raven stood there, she saw the large mass of people who stood on the ground below her. There were thousands of people surrounding the Castle and no doubt several other hundreds were crammed directly outside Sector 1, trying to get a glimpse of Raven. All were shouting and cheering and calling out her name.

"Everyone," she started, waiting for them to quiet down. Eventually, they did until the entire world was silent. Taking in a deep breath, she started, her voice magically projected throughout Azarath, "Everyone here has lost something precious. Everyone here has lost homes, dreams, friends, and loved ones. Now the Taboo are dead, never to come back again. Now, Azarath—no, the World—is ours again. Working together, we can now make new homes for ourselves—and new dreams. Although the road will be long and hard, we have a lot of time. In the past few years of my life, I've learned how powerful it is to have others by your side—how strong we can be when we have each other. We right now are only a mere fragment of what Azarath used to be. But as long as we have each other, together we can rebuild Azarath. And as your new High Lady, I promise to you—I swear to you—I will serve you all to the best of my abilities. Together, we can do the impossible. The road is ahead of us, so let's start out today."

Raven bowed to them, turned around, and walked back. She saw her friends there waiting for her—Starfire, Robin, Cyborg, Terra, and Raphael—but she saw one spot was empty, one person was missing. A certain green man. Staring at the empty space where Beast Boy should've stood, Raven suddenly turned back around and faced her people once more.

"Just—just one more thing," she said. "The people and friends that you've lost, the dreams that have faded… or the people that you've loved…" Her memories came in one by one, from her first time meeting Beast Boy to the defeat of Trigon, from her wedding with Seymour and their first date at the Jackal, from Paen to the Taboo. One final tear emerged from her eyes and gently glided down her cheeks and her breath escaped her as she said with a soft, sad smile:

"Never Forget Them."

~Endless Love in my Heart~


	20. Epilogue x Endless Love

**This is the very end. It's been a very long ride, let me tell you. I have no regrets in writing this, only that it took so long. I am very pleased with this trilogy, though it's probably the last time I'll write something as long as this! Still, I extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who has been patient enough to have read all three stories. Thank you. Thank you to all my dear readers who have been reading this trilogy since it first started. Thank you for all of those who have stayed until the very end. I hope I have satisfied and pleased you all with my work. I am glad to have had the chance to share with you this story. I am glad you have chosen to listen to my story. I am glad that you are here.**

**Thank You.**

* * *

_**Secret Report 20**_

_It has been a year since the events these reports cover have transpired. A year since Raven had defeated the Conductor and saved the World. Azarath is rebuilding and restoring itself quite nicely, with my anonymous help of course. And now that Raven has decided to leave Azarath to come home to Earth, seeing that it no longer needs her, I find myself leafing through these old papers of mine and reflecting upon my actions._

_It's true, I have thought about the many things I have done. Were they the right thing to do? But still, I have no regrets, for it all worked out well in the end._

_But now Raven had saved the World at the cost of the person she held most dear—Beast Boy. She seems to be doing fine, however. Her past experiences, as well as my encouraging words from before, have helped her through this time of sadness. She understands now the meaning of happiness and of life. She understands now that despite her troubles, she is not alone. She understands now the importance of people and friends, something she did not fully understand years ago. That is why she continues to live._

_It was because of the change he saw in Raven that the Composer decided to not erase the World. It seems that she had brought to him the Wonderful World he's always wanted._

_I believe now I should reveal my true identity._

_My name is Soel. I am the Producer._

_The Producer serves as the Archangel, leader of the Angels and personal advisor of the Composer, Joshua. No one knows who I am except for the Angels and the Composer. Even the Conductor is unaware of my existence. My position is similar to that of the Conductor—leader of the Taboo, and Trigon—leader of the Demons, but I am exponentially more powerful than either of them. When Joshua first informed me of the game between him and his Conductor many years ago, I knew I had to stop him. I couldn't let Joshua erase the World and I tried my best to convince him otherwise. But I knew he was right; there were so many problems in the World. I did all I could in stopping the Composer, even resorting to helping the Conductor and Seymour. _

_Seymour was my backup plan to ensure the World's survival. If the Composer had not changed his mind, the World would've been lost. I knew I had to prevent that at any cost. Thus, I've deemed it necessary to cross the boundaries Angels usually respect. I helped Seymour, giving him new knowledge and powers in the hopes that he would stop the Composer's goal from reaching fruition. If Raven had managed to defeat both Seymour and the Conductor, then I would have had to come in and stop her myself before she helps the Composer win his game and thereby allow him to erase the World. Putting Raven in danger was something I did not wish to do, and I loathe myself for having done so, but her life does not come before the millions of lives in the World. Neither does Joshua. I love him dearly like a brother, but if he wished to erase the World, then I must stop him._

_I resorted to putting them in danger. Raven and Joshua… If anything had happened to them, it would've been my fault. Every time I set my eyes on either one of them, every time I hear Joshua smile, completely unaware I tried to kill him, every time I watch Raven from a distance, every time I reflect on my actions, I feel my soul and my heart grow darker._

_But darkness has always been husband to light._

_I sincerely hope that someday my sins will be judged justified._

_I still hold faith that they will. Now, and forevermore..._

_One last thing. To the Composer's pick._

_Raven…_

_The future you must choose is within you. The World is within your hands._

_I am glad to have had the chance to meet you._

…

– **No Place Like Home –**

Jump City's streets were crowded with people as they walked here and there in the warm spring day. People walked, talked, whistled, and laughed, greeting each other and saying goodbye to each other. They all went their usual ways, unaware that a year ago they had almost been erased from existence. No one in that entire city knew except for a mysterious figure donning a white cloak.

The figure—a thirty year old woman with long violet hair and grey skin—walked down the streets of Jump City, remembering her time there as a teenage superhero. "Same city, same streets," she commented. "Jump City doesn't ever change, does it?"

It had been a year since the woman had defeated the Conductor, saved the World, and became Azarath's High Lady Raven. A year since he passed… Azarath's thirteen sectors were all fully rebuilt and were slowly repopulating. With that in mind, the woman had decided it was best that she returned home to Earth. She had no regrets; she was certain High Father Raphael would do a good job.

She chuckled, remembering how when they were little she joked that he'd never be anything other than a simple farmer. Raphael had truly believed that as well when he was thirteen—he had no magical talent and was a horrible student. All he had were his muscles to lift heavy objects. Somehow, this simple farm boy had become the highly respected and revered leader of his world. Just goes to show you where perseverance can take you. Well, perseverance and an invasion that wiped out the other potential leaders. But mostly perseverance.

The woman sighed as she passed by the Jackal—a nightclub where she and Beast Boy had had their first date. She followed a sudden urge to go inside and saw to no surprise that the Jackal was relatively unchanged over the past twelve years. The layout was a bit renovated but otherwise remained the same. On the stage, a couple was slow-dancing. The girl was wearing a blue cloak and had grey skin while the boy was wearing a black and purple suit and had green skin. Raven gasped and blinked—the girl suddenly became a blonde with a black dress and the boy suddenly became a red-head with a white dress shirt and black pants. Shaking away her memories of Beast Boy, she left the club, saying to herself, "Beast Boy… There's one last thing I have to do before I let you go. I have to see you… one last time…"

She flew up into the air and towards Titans Tower. The building was recently refurbished and was set to be a museum to display the lives of the five Titans. The sorceress had informed the museum and renovation people that she wanted the Tower to herself today, and thankfully no one was here. She made her way inside and went up into Beast Boy's room. Everything was kept intact, from his bed to his desk. Walking over and sitting on his desk euphorically, she pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from her pocket and wrote a letter to the man she had once loved.

_Beast Boy_

_It doesn't matter if you don't love me._

_It doesn't matter if you don't remember me._

_I just want you to know one thing._

_You made me happier than I ever thought I could be._

_Though the secrets in my heart separated us,_

_Though I cried my lover's tears,_

_Seeing you smile was good enough for me._

_And it doesn't matter if you don't love me._

_It doesn't matter if you forget me._

_I just want to tell you a secret._

_I love you._

_Raven_

The woman in white stopped as she felt tears about to emerge. Slowly she breathed in and out, in and out until the feeling subsided and her heart slowed. Folding up the letter and placing it into an envelope, she was about to stand up before glancing at the pen. For some reason unknown to her, she felt herself compelled to take the pen and write on his desk. She wrote on the desk three simple sentences that for some reason made her almost burst into tears. The sentences were rather meaningless but for some reason they tugged at her heart as if they once held a very important meaning to her—perhaps in a dream, or a dream of a dream, or a past life. She had written three simple sentences in black ink:

**I am Raven.**

**I love you.**

**Do you love me?**

She left the room, not noticing that on that very same desk, very faint, nearly undetectable lines appeared from nowhere, first showing the sentence _Where are you?_ and a heart drawn from dots.

** – Tying Up Loose Ends –**

A clap of thunder, a roaring of winds, and a flood of light came from Raven's room as she cast a spell that transported herself into the parallel timeline. Opening her eyes, she saw to her surprise that inside her room was all sorts of gym equipment. "So this is the timeline that I died in…" she muttered. "Where I had disappeared inside the Void instead of surviving."

The woman left the room and rode the elevator down to the Tower entrance. She noticed that it was nighttime and that grey clouds were approaching, meaning it could rain at any minute. Flying towards the city, she landed near the Jump City Public Library and went inside. She knew that in this universe, no one remembered her, but was surprised to find everyone inside the library staring at her quizzically. "Why are they all looking at me?" she wondered. "No one's supposed to know me here."

Looking down, she realized the obvious reason—she was dressed like a freak in white. Ignoring their murmurs and whispers, she walked towards an open computer and searched for a Garfield Logan. With minimal difficulty, she located his house, which was not too far from here.

She walked outside and raised her hood above her head, walking towards Beast Boy's house, knowing full well that flying there would do nothing but cause commotion and have the local superheroes believe a new supervillain had arrived.

…

Garfield heard a knock on his front door in a dark, stormy night.

He opened the door and saw a woman in her late twenties standing there. She was wearing a white robe-like coat and her hood was down.

"Hi," the woman said.

"Hi…" Garfield said. "Umm… Who are you, may I ask?"

"Oh, sorry. You're Garfield Logan, right? About ten years ago, a girl asked me to give this to "Beast Boy" and left before I could ask who that was. After reading your book, I realized that it was you. So here you go."

The woman pulled a small envelope from her coat and handed it to Garfield.

"Uh, thanks," he said.

"Sure. I didn't open it, just so you know," the woman smiled. She gazed at him for a few seconds, then left.

As she looked up at the sky, the woman said, "It sure is rainy." With these words, she pulled up her hood and stepped into the rain. She opened up a portal and walked inside, returning back to her own universe with a smile. She had seen Beast Boy's face one last time, saw his eyes and his smile. And for the first time, that was good enough.

– **Reunion –**

Raven stood on the cliff with her eyes closed, letting her long hair flow in the breeze. This cliff contained very special memories for her, all of them of Beast Boy. Perhaps if she called him from here… Opening her eyes and taking a deep breath, she placed her thumb and index finger into her mouth and blew as hard as she could, producing a loud whistle. Nothing happened. Again, she whistled as loud as her lungs could manage. Again, nothing happened. Panting, she continued, ignoring the gradual weakness of her lungs. And when she could whistle no more, she closed her eyes once more and again let her long hair flow in the breeze.

"Beast Boy," she whispered. "Can you hear me?"

A whistle came from behind her, followed by the sound of his laugh. Raven dared not turn around. "Why can't I seem to forget about you?" she whispered. "I'm even hearing things now."

She suddenly felt the warmth of a body behind her as two arms wrapped themselves around her. Her heart skipped a beat from the shock. Refusing to believe her senses, she ignored the arms, repeating to herself, "Stop thinking about him, stop thinking about him, stop thinking."

In response, one of the arms reached down and grabbed her hand, bringing it to his own. "I'm here, Raven," she heard him say.

Raven dropped to her knees and burst into tears. Before he could bend down, she turned around and jumped back into his arms. "Beast Boy!" she cried out as she shoved her face between his cheek and shoulder.

"I'm here, Rae. Just like I said I would," he smiled.

"Is it… really you?"

"It is," he nodded.

"Please tell me it's really you, Beast Boy. Tell me I'm not dreaming," she cried. In response, he put his hands on her cheeks and brought their lips together for a passionate kiss.

"Convinced now?" he smiled.

Wiping away her tears, she sniffled, "I don't know. I might need some more convincing." Both laughed a bit and resumed kissing passionately.

– **The Two Men Who Watch From The Shadows –**

From a distance, two figures stood on the roof of the Titans Tower, watching the two lovers' reunion.

"Well isn't this romantic?" Soel said with a laugh. "Such a great happily-ever-after ending. At least things are back to normal, right?" The other figure was silent. "Haha, what? You seem down. Aw, come on, what's the matter, Joshua? If you're gonna be this way, why'd you resurrect Beast Boy in the first place?"

The other figure was again silent, before slowly replying, "It's what she wants, isn't it? Having him in her life again will make her happy."

"I get it…" Soel said. "You miss them, don't you? You wish you could be normal and be friends with them." He sighed, "I know, I know. Being Composer is hard. Having no friends and barely anyone to talk to… it's hard. I'm the only one you have, and even then we're both so busy sometimes we have no time for each other. But you know, sometimes you just have to let them go and be happy."

"Raven…" Joshua said, for the first time with a serious—almost melancholic—look on his face. "Be happy."

"Whoa… wait," Soel jumped. "You didn't—did you have feelings for—" Joshua transformed into a flash of light and flew into the air. Soel laughed out loud as a pair of wings emerged from his back. "Poor guy. I better get him a cup of coffee. Maybe a couple shots as well, hahaha," he laughed as he flew up into the air, joining Joshua in the heavens.

– **Under a Moon-Filled Sky –**

Raven emerged from a portal onto the roof of the Titans Tower. There was a gentle breeze and the night was illuminated by the stars and the moon. "Beast Boy?" she called out. "I'm here. What now?"

Beast Boy, who had been standing near the edge of the roof and was staring out into the ocean, turned around, staring at something in his hand. He had the most ridiculous smile on his face that Raven couldn't help but laugh.

"What is it?" she asked again, stepping closer to him.

"Oh!—nothing!" he quickly responded, hiding his hand behind his back and giving her an awkward wave with his other hand, trying to act as innocent as possible.

"What's that?"

"None of your beeswax." He stuck his tongue out before turning around to examine the object much closer.

"What? Tell me! Tell me you childish little brat before I—"

In a movement so quick, the man turned around, took Raven's left hand, and carefully placed onto her finger a silver wedding band.

She felt her heart stop beating as she saw the shining object on her ring finger. The ring reflected the moonlight so beautifully that she couldn't take her eyes off it. Bringing it closer and examining it as if it was a baby, she dropped her jaw and looked up at him in surprise.

Beast Boy had the largest grin on his face as he lifted up his own left hand, showing her the exact wedding band on his own finger. Raven could barely contain her tears as she rushed up and hugged him.

"Beast Boy…" she whispered in joy.

"I dare you to finish that other sentence," he teased, forcing her to punch his gut. Beast Boy took her left ring finger and brought it next to his own. Raven noticed that there were engravings on their wedding rings—Beast Boy's contained the word 'TOGETHER' while Raven's bore 'FOREVER'.

"Together," she mumbled. "Forever."

"That's what we are, right?" Beast Boy smiled. "That's what we always will be." Placing his hands on her cheeks, he said, "Together."

Placing her own hands on his cheeks, Raven finished, "Forever," as they kissed for the first time as a betrothed couple.

– **A Love That Transcends Time –**

Sarah Prynne picked up the latest issue of Architecture Monthly magazine and saw on the front cover the image of a beautiful vacation mansion resting on a private island, surrounded by a beautiful garden with the caption: "Vacation Home of the Century".

Out of curiosity, she flipped to the page that gave the details about the home and read the entire article. To her surprise, the details were exactly like the ones on the blueprints of the vacation home she had made years ago. The parameters were exactly the same and the design was a carbon copy. She was infuriated and was about to sue for plagiarism before she suddenly realized the truth.

"Richard," she gasped. He had promised to make the house for her when he came back. This means he's—he's alive! "Richard…" she panted as she suddenly ran out the apartment with the magazine in her hand. "Richard… you're alive. You're alive!"

…

Sarah arrived at the mansion breathlessly. The mansion was so much more beautiful in real life than it ever was in her mind. The garden was absolutely gorgeous, with the most beautiful and exotic flowers she had ever seen. Walking inside the house, she noticed that the walls were a lovely pure white ivory and the floors were a stunning marble. She made her way around the house, surprised at how every detail of the mansion was exactly like her blueprints.

Finally she arrived at the balcony—a wonderful porch with wooden floors, a table, two chairs, and a light breeze to top. But what attracted her most was a jigsaw puzzle hanging on the far wall depicted a piano—the very same puzzle piece she had seen when she first met Richard.

_Walking inside and riding the elevator up to the seventh floor, she quickly found the office of the man she was assigned to: a Mr. Richard Burke, who was just slightly older than her. Walking inside and examining it, she saw that the office was clean and empty, with few furnishings and no decorations. The one thing that caught her eye, however, was a large jigsaw puzzle on the wall that depicted a beautiful piano. She noticed there was a piece missing and immediately took out the puzzle piece she found outside on the ground earlier. Reckoning that it had fallen off when the movers brought the puzzle into the office, Rayne carefully placed the missing piece into the gap, pleased that it fit perfectly._

_Turning absentmindedly towards the door, she saw that there was a man there who had been watching her—a man in his early twenties with dark hair and a rather grim face._

Staring at the jigsaw puzzle wistfully, she saw as a strong gust of wind blew, shaking the jigsaw and causing a puzzle piece to fall off. Rushing over as if a baby had fallen, she picked up the puzzle piece, caressing it between her fingers, before placing it back into its proper spot, pleased that it fit perfectly.

Turning around absentmindedly, she saw that there was a man there who had been watching her—a man in his fifties with graying hair and a rather beaming face.

She felt her heart stop. The two stared at each other, each unable to comprehend the other's existence. Sarah felt her heart race and her mind go blank. And as she stared into his eyes, she knew it was him. "Richard? I—Is that you?"

"Rayne?" he answered. "Is that you?"

Both burst into tears as they embraced each other, finally reunited after thirty years of separation.

– **The Wedding –**

"A Catholic mass?" Jinx exclaimed in surprise as she walked into the church. "That's strange."

"Well Cyborg told me that Beast Boy was raised by the Doom Patrol as a Catholic," Kid Flash replied as he walked right behind her. "And that a Catholic mass was the closest thing to an Azarathean wedding."

"I suppose. But I really do wish they would've done it outside. It's such a beautiful spring day…"

Taking out a brochure, he read off the list: "Bride: Raven—Rachel Roth. Maid of Honor: Starfire—Koriand'r Grayson. Bridesmaid: Terra—Tara Markoff. Groom: Beast Boy—Garfield Logan. Best Man: Cyborg—Victor Stone. Groomsman: Robin—Richard Grayson."

"Oh look! The wedding's starting!" Jinx cried as a live orchestra began playing an orchestral version of _Lover's Tears._

Beast Boy was the first to walk down the aisle. He went down by himself and was wearing a larger version of the same green suit he wore in his first trip to Azarath. He wore a black tunic with a standing collar buttoned down from top-to-bottom and accented with a gold trim and dark green cuffs. Intricate golden patterns are seen on the tunic. His pants are straight leg and tucked into black knee-high boots. A black belt is worn with the tunic and a jade green and silver belt-like strap is adorned from the top of his left shoulder across the chest to the top of his right leg. On his shoulders are golden tasseled pauldrons, which connect to a flowing dark green cloak. The clothes felt a little heavy, but strangely comfortable. Undeniably soft, too, like silk, yet strong like leather. Nothing on Earth could compare with such a fabric.

Next came the best man and maid of honor. Cyborg wore a large black suit with black pants, black shoes, a white dress shirt, and black bowtie while Starfire wore an elegant Azarathean dress that was white and covered with crystalline-like gems. The gems reflected light quite nicely—it reflected just enough to look beautiful but not too much that it was an eyesore. Robin and Terra came next, each wearing the same outfits as the previous two.

Finally came the person they had all been waiting for. Raphael emerged from the door, wearing an Azarathean suit similar to Beast Boy's, but was completely black from head to toe. Smiling proudly, he extended his arm and the audience watched in glee as they saw a dainty grey arm wrap itself around his. They could barely keep in their cheers as they saw Raven walking down the aisle.

Raven's blue-violet hair was tied up in a bun, with a few strands of hair daintily hanging over the side of her face, with a white diamond tiara on her head. She wore a white, strapless gown cut in the front to reveal her thighs with a short train behind her. The dress has white feather ornamentation on the front hem and a pair of small feathered wings attached to a small bouquet of roses on the back. She also wears white gloves, high-heeled boots, and a silver necklace. Sky blue designs covered nearly her entire gown. It was the same dress she had worn in Azarath when she first married Seymour.

Raven also could barely contain her smile as Raphael led her down the aisle and gave her to Beast Boy. The rest of the mass followed perfectly—for nothing could go wrong as long as the two had each other. They exchanged their vows, their rings, and finally a kiss to seal in the rest of their lives together.

– **Endless Love –**

"Okay, okay! Everyone please smile right here!" the cameraman shouted to the giant flock of Titans. Everyone who had ever been a Titan, whether full or honorary, were in a massive crowd behind the new couple. They eventually sorted themselves into five rows and all smiled at the camera.

"Now will the bride please place her arms around the groom!" he shouted. Raven obeyed more than willingly.

"Okay, ready? One, two, three!" He snapped the camera.

As he did so, Raven tightened her grip on Beast Boy's arm ever so slightly.

"Raven," Beast Boy thought to himself. "The rest of our lives begins now, at this very moment. As time flows by, and everything starts to feel like a dream, I won't be afraid as long as I have you. I'll always be here."

"Beast Boy," Raven thought to herself. "Throughout the years, throughout all that's happened to us, you've always been there for me. Because of all the secrets, all the memories, and all the endless love in our hearts, we've gotten to where we are today. Nothing scares me anymore as long as I have you. Nothing else matters anymore. I love you. That's all I need to know. That's all there is to know. And for the first time, that's good enough."

_Beast Boy sighed, probably because he was so tired. He started down the hallway, but couldn't shake off the feeling that he was slightly disappointed, like he wanted to say something to Raven, maybe to apologize one more time. He shrugged off the feeling and kept walking. He heard the sound of a voice calling his name, "Beast Boy?"_

_Beast Boy turned around abruptly, feeling his heart jump slightly. "Yes?" he answered._

_Raven, standing at her door, seemed to stammer a little, but then gave him one final "Good night," and a small smile. Then she walked inside her room and gently closed the door._

_Beast Boy felt like smiling, but he didn't know why. "Good night," he whispered, and headed down to his room._

~Secrets in my Heart~

~Memories in my Heart~

~Endless Love in my Heart~

**~ THE END ~**


End file.
